The Sandy Bay and West End / West Bay Marine Park Monthly Newsletter
October 2006 in Roatan, Honduras

Welcome once again to the monthly summary of the Sandy Bay West End Marine Park . Here at the Park we have been busy as usual working on projects, ensuring the patrols are out, attending workshops, networking with organizations, planning future projects, looking for grants, corresponding with possible researchers and much much more.

I would like to start by thanking all those that have supported us, including all members and those that have been selling reef user tags. With the slow season upon us, every tag and membership counts and appreciation goes out to AKR, BananaRama, BIBR, Coconut Tree, Las Rocas, Luna Beach, Native Sons, Ocean Connections, Octopus Dive School, Pura Vida, Reef Gliders, TGI, Tylls, and West End, who have purchased tags from us in the last month.

Even though last month was so slow and Roatan had very few visitors, myself, Lidia and Greg were kept busy attending workshops all over the region. I (Nick ) was fortunate to travel to Cozumel , Mexico , and attend the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium, ITMEMS. While there I met a whole host of people involved in conservation and managed to acquire some very important contacts. I was asked to make a presentation on the Park and my talk was warmly received by my audience. In addition to ITMEMS, I also attended a Coral Reef Crime Scene Investigation work shop, a brand new course developed to deal with documenting natural and anthropogenic impacts on the reefs.

I (Greg) attended a workshop on Utila where we were discussing the standardization of whale shark encounters throughout the Northern Coast of Honduras. Previously, I had collected information from a host of senior divers and fishermen in the West End and the general consensus seemed to be that our whale shark encounters on Roatan are dangerous for both divers and sharks and some new standards are seriously in need. We came up with some new standards that will be released soon. We were even able to practice the new standards during a whale shark encounter of our own. This conference was organized and paid for by BICA Utila. One thing that I did learn at the conference was that Roatan’s dive shops are cooperating and have a common voice at our General Assembly meetings. We are united in a common cause through the marine park and the possibilities are endless. On Utila they are all squabbling, refuse to show up at meetings and generally despise one another’s presence. I believe that that is why they have such serious issues with conservation on Utila. Way to go Roatan!

Lidia had a conference in Trujillo where the fate of Honduras ’ turtles was being discussed. This conference was organized and paid for by CODEFAGOLF, SERNA and MOPAWI. There they were able to come up with a protection plan for sea turtles of various species. The focus of funds will be on the collection of sea turtle eggs, their incubation and subsequent release as well as an extensive monitoring program. One interesting thing to note was that many regions of Honduras have central sea turtle conservation groups where as the Bay Islands do not.


Other things that have been going on at the Park:

Ø We now have our “Constancia” from the Honduran government which makes us a legal and federal recognized organization. This brings us one step closer to NGO status which we hope will be received within the month.
Ø Greg went on a field trip with Miriam’s school to Jonesville for a tour of the mangroves. It was a blast, Greg taught them about the mangrove and reef ecosystems, we saw a pod of dolphins close up and we went snorkeling on the reef.
Ø We’ve started purchasing new buoys for our mooring system overhaul.
Ø We’ve ordered biodegradeable sunscreens which will be arriving soon.
Ø We hosted a General Assembly meeting where new diving standards and boat operation standards were drafted. These standards will be distributed within the week, all glossy and laminated.
Ø We will be hosting another General Assembly meeting on the 20th of November, above Coconut Tree at Bertie’s. At this meeting we will be discussing next year’s reef user fee. It has been suggested that we raise the fee to $10/year and $3 for a one day pass.
Ø We received 20 sets of kid’s snorkel gear. So we will be starting a kid’s reef education program shortly. If anyone wants to volunteer as supervisors, spotters, rescuers, educators etc. please stop by the office and we’ll let you know the dates.
Ø Mandy’s Eel Garden and surrounding area is a disaster zone. This is a clear indication of where the filling in of wetlands and stripping of hillsides will take us.

I hope that that wasn’t too long. If anyone has any questions drop by any time, email us at roatanmarinepark@yahoo.com or give us a call at 349-4138.

Respect the Reef.
Greg, Nick and Lidia.

Relevant web sites:

For more information about the International Tropical Marine Ecosystems Management Symposium (ITMEMS) visit www.itmems.org.

If you want to know more about fish you see out in the park, visit www.fishbase.org, which has an index of almost 30,000 species of fish.

If you want to know more about the reefs, go to www.reefbase.org which contains global information regarding coral reefs.