Welcome to the Roatan Marine Park’s
September newsletter,
Welcome to September’s newsletter,
While slow season has now firmly
hit the island, with tourist numbers at an annual low,
the Marine Park has been busy as per usual. With the
evacuation of the island in the beginning of the month
and CNN declaring that Roatan’s been blown off
the face of the world, number of visitors has drastically
dropped. For many businesses, this decline in tourists
has hit them hard, with dive shops, restaurants, hotels
etc. all noticing a decline in revenue, and the Marine
Park is no exception. With general overheads running
at $7,000, the first month of slow season has been a
struggle and there is still October, November and December
to follow. We would like to thank those that have given
generously and implore others to do the same and support
us in our time of need. The Marine Park relies solely
on tourism and the generosity of local businesses and
Staff
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, there are two
new members to the Marine Park staff. Both James Foley
and Grazzia Matamoros, replacing Lidia and Andrea, have
settled in exceptionally well and have dealt with the
variety of work thrust upon them. While continuing with
the projects of the prior managers, they are also creating
their own endeavors.
Patrols
September was a reasonably busy month on the water with
a total of 4 arrests and the confiscation of 5 sets
of gear from people diving around the CocoView area.
Over the holiday weekend our patrols stumbled upon 2
people diving around Sandy Bay. Sadly the accused evaded
our patrol but our captain was able to dive down and
retrieve a sack full of dead and live conch. The conch
were taken to an unspecified location and released,
and as I write this, I would like to quash the rumor
that our employed captains poach.
Due to constant patrolling, illegal
activities within the Park have decreased to a few individuals.
Areas around CocoView, Oak Ridge, Jonesville, Barefoot
Key, Turquoise Bay, and Camp Bay however are subjected
to persistent problems. To combat this, we have recently
been sending a captain and 2 policemen twice weekly
to patrol the waters around CocoView. In the months
to follow, wrongdoers will have their gear and catch
confiscated and be given an official warning until the
laws become common knowledge. Repeat offenders will
be imprisoned. This will be discussed further in the
South Side Chapter section of this newsletter.
In last month’s newsletter
it was mentioned that the Marine Park would be hiring
Municipal Police but after much discussion it was decided
against. For our patrols to be taken seriously it is
sadly a requirement that they be armed to ensure compliance
to the laws. As usual, for our patrols to work more
effectively, we implore that those living close to the
shore to keep a close eye on what’s happening
in the water. Please contact us here in the office if
you see anything suspicious. Not only are our patrols
on the look out for poachers, but for persons cutting
mangrove, building without a permit, and constructing
on the iron shore, all of which are illegal activities.
South Side Chapter
September 7th saw the first general assembly meeting
of the South Side Chapter with representatives from
Barefoot Divers, CoCo View, Dock Side Dive Center, Fantasy
Island, Reef House, and Subway Watersports attending.
In addition, the chief of the Municipal Police, Joseph
Solomon, the head of the National Police, Julio Benitez,
the Port Captain, Carlos Majia, and the head of the
patronato of Punta Gorda participated. It was a great
turnout and was the final project that Greg worked on
before his departure.
A further meeting is to be called
in the near future with the intention of selecting a
board, addressing critical situations, and making a
management plan for the coming year. While patrolling
and arresting may sound like an appropriate means of
solving the problems, this will most certainly cause
conflict and do more harm than good. In order for these
areas to be managed successfully, it is imperative that
the local communities are informed of the laws. Only
by educating and raising awareness in the local community
and helping them to find alternative means of income,
will the reef and its inhabitants be able to survive
the incessant onslaught of unsustainable practices.
Lobster Project
After 3 months of studies, the lobster project is now
in Phase 2. Out of the initial four sites selected for
study, Half Moon Bay and the channel by Luna Beach have
been chosen for the next step. 3 collectors are to be
placed at each location and in the hope that no storms
destroy the collectors, the project will continue for
9 more months. When the collectors were last inspected
on August 20th, not only did we find over 30 juvenile
lobsters, but also an Atlantic pygmy octopus, max size
4in.
West Bay Pollution
As many of you who live in and around West Bay and West
End know the current situation in regards to the discharge
from Foster’s creek has brought up several concerns.
Skin infections, constant murky brown effluent coming
from the creek, rancid smells, have all become ever
apparent, especially with the torrential rain at the
moment. On October 1st a meeting was held at Henry Morgan
Resort with the intention of resolving the issue of
inadequate sewage systems of hotels and resorts in West
Bay. An ultimatum was given to owners and we expect
the situation to be resolved promptly.
Fishermen’s Association
Meeting
Over recent weeks, local fishermen that operate within
the Marine Park have been discussing catch and size
restrictions in a means of preserving local fish stocks.
In the last meeting, held on 25th September, those attending
finalized restrictions for all fish targeted by sport
fishermen. It was agreed that all bill fish, shark,
bonefish, permit, snook and tarpon would be catch and
release, while minimum and maximum sizes, minimum length
and maximum quantity were decided for 26 other species
of fish. This is the first step in the preservation
of local reef fish populations, as well as pelagic species
and those which migrate to waters surrounding the island
to spawn.
The next fishermen’s association
meeting is to be held on October 9th at 7pm at Coconut
Tree Restaurant. The aim of this meeting will be to
try and set limits for artisinal fishing. This will
be a much harder process than the previous charter fishermen
limitations, as these restrictions target those whose
primary income comes from fishing and not tourism. While
attendance to the association meetings has predominantly
been by those running charters, this meeting will hopefully
boost attendance by focusing on the artisinal man.
Members
Throughout 2007, we here at the Marine Park felt that
our financial status was stable and secure and that
slow season would have little effect on our daily procedures.
We were however wrong, and are feeling the squeeze as
pay day comes around twice a month. The reason for our
lack of foresight was due to receiving 2 grants around
this time last year which covered overheads when income
was low. Having been lulled into a false sense of security
and with September’s user fee sales amounting
only $3,000, it has become imperative that the Park
search for additional sources of funds. While the Marine
Park’s primary source of income is through the
sale of the tags and bracelets, membership is also important
as a means of generating funds.
There are 4 classifications of annual
memberships available; Bronze which costs $50 and is
aimed at individuals, Silver which is $250 and aimed
at small business, Gold which is $1,000 and directed
at dive shops and other marine recreational users, and
then Platinum which costs $5,000 and is for larger businesses.
We ask all those that are business members to contact
us to ensure membership is up to date, while those that
If anyone has any questions drop by any time, email
us at roatanmarinepark@yahoo.com or give us a call at
349-4138, 445-4206, 445-4208.
Respect the Reef.
Nick, Grazzia, James.
For additional information about
WWF and all of the amazing things that
they are doing worldwide for all of us, visit http://www.wwf.org
Check out the Coral Reef Alliance
and discover how they are helping Protected Areas worldwide
at http://www.coralreefalliance.org
Discover how Project AWARE is "Conserving
underwater environments through education, advocacy
and action" at http://www.projectaware.org
If you want to know more about fish
you see 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.
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