Roatan Marine Park

This is one of RMP's core programs and it accounts for 22% of our annual operating budget. Our rangers, in partnership with the Honduran Navy, tirelessly monitor the waters surrounding the island to identify any illicit activity that could damage the reef, such as illegal fishing (e.g. sharks, turtles, conch, lobster, and parrotfish) and the use of prohibited fishing gear (e.g. fish or lobster traps, spears, spearguns, and nets). These dedicated rangers serve as our eyes on the reef, promptly reporting any infractions to the relevant authorities, including the Municipality, the Institute for Forestry Conservation (ICF), Merchant Marine (DGMM), and the Fisheries Department (DIGEPESCA).In addition to monitoring and reporting, our rangers also assist the public in emergency situations, such as helping boaters experiencing mechanical difficulties, collisions,and groundings. They conduct search and rescue operations, perform inspections, and more. Over the years, the patrol program has undergone significant development to become more efficient and reliable. One of the key innovations we have implemented is the use of the Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool (SMART). This year marks our second year of successful implementation of this powerful tool, which has allowed us to georeference all reports and focus our patrols on areas with higher rates of infractions. Furthermore, SMART enables us to closely monitor our fuel consumption, mileage, and document all maintenance for our boats. This data provides valuable insights into our operations, which we use to optimize our patrols and make informed decisions. However, the most important aspect of our program has been our emphasis on team capacity building. We recognize that we are only as good as the people on our team. Our rangers received first aid training supported by the Permanent Contingency Committee (COPECO), and Yamaha mechanics provided engine maintenance training for outboard motors to increase the lifespan of our engines. We have also worked with other conservation organizations to protect other areas of the Mesoamerican Reef. The RMP routinely exchanges knowledge with other countries in the Mesoamerican Reef Region (MAR) and shares knowledge and techniques with other MPAs in the MAR.

Our environmental education program is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of marine ecosystems and their conservation. Despite their vital role in both local communities and the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR), these precious environments are often overlooked in traditional education. As the world returns to normal after the pandemic, we have returned to the east side of Roatan, reaching both municipalities. This year, we brought our message directly to the classrooms, posing the thought-provoking question, "Did you know you live in a marine protected area?"; to our surprise, many students were unaware of the Bay Islands National Marine Park (BINMP) and its significance. This reinforced our determination to focus our education efforts on the importance of the BINMP and marine conservation in general. In addition to our in-classroom efforts, we also took a big step towards advancing environmental education on the island, by partnering with the regional educational authority, Partners in Education Roatan (PIER), and the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) to develop a national curriculum on coastal-marine resources. This curriculum will be integrated into schools across the country, allowing us to expand our environmental reach. Partnerships and alliances have always been key to the success of our education program, and we will continue to build a network of connections with local, national, and international organizations. These partnerships enable us to develop new communication strategies and promote environmental conservation on a larger scale.

Nearly a million tourists visit Roatan every year because of its beauty and charm. As a result, many members of the community generate their income as tour guides or in service related industries like hotels, restaurants, dive shops, and ports. Service providers are often the first point of contact for visitors and play a vital role in shaping the tourist’s perception of the island. Taking this into consideration, we started a campaign to assist and inform tourism service providers about BINMP's and courses were taught on "How to be a Responsible Visitor" and "The Responsible Seafood Guide for the Bay Islands". The role of tourism service providers in spreading awareness of environmentally responsible behaviors and enforcing conservation measures cannot be overstated. Through this initiative we were able to train 239 employees from tourism companies, thanks to our generous supporters.

Since 2016, Sea Turtle Camps have been held at various schools, and 2022 was not different. In order to effectively convey the importance of protecting these key species, we engaged participating students through short talks, workshops, and games. Preventing the extinction of sea turtles requires raising awareness of the issues they face and taking action to resolve them. One of the most important things we can do to increase the impact of environmental education is to build local capacity, and who better to enlist as allies than teachers themselves? This year, we held training sessions for educators and pushed for their full participation in all events. The training centered on enhancing the knowledge and abilities required for effective use of the resources provided in the "Sun, Sand, and Sea Turtles" manual. It's now easier than ever for educators to include relevant lessons on these topics throughout the year and share their knowledge with colleagues who are interested.

The RMP Coral Restoration Project and courses have had great success this year! Our project offers a unique opportunity for divers to get hands-on experience in coral restoration, through the RMP’s coral restoration courses. Currently, the courses are provided by Roatan Divers, Coconut Tree Divers, Sun Divers, and Reef Gliders. They are taught by our RMP certified instructor, this year alone we have been able to certify 5 new course instructors, with more to come in 2023. By having more dive centers and instructors offering courses, more people can receive training to participate in coral restoration activities with us. This ensures that the program can be financially, sustainable enabling us to continue restoring Roatan’s reef. An important aspect of the project is also community engagement. Since 2021, we have co-hosted CORALMANIA, the biggest international out-planting event in the region. In which all the students of the courses can volunteer to outplant corals in this amazing event. This year we took part once more in November by out-planting fragments of Staghorn, Elkhorn, and a hybrid Fused Staghorn onto the reef at Turtle Crossing Shallow. All of the RMP Coral Restoration Dive Centers were gracious hosts and provided boats, tanks, and captains to our cause. Our goal was to plant 300 corals, just like last year, but due to the demand from over 40 volunteers who participated, we were able to plant 761 fragments, which is more than double what we did in 2021!

Since 2021, we diversified our coral restoration techniques in an effort to restore species affected by Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. In September, thanks to a collaboration with SECORE and with support from the GIZ, we were able to conduct assisted sexual fertilization for the first time in Honduras. In this method, sperm and eggs from corals are collected and put together so that they can fertilize at a higher rate than they would on their own. This means that more baby corals have a chance of growing up to be adults. During this spawning event, we also hosted a training workshop to help build local capacity in the country. We were joined by the California Academy of Science, SECORE staff, and 20 local representatives, including biologists, managers of the Bay Islands, Tela, and Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and government officials.

All participants learned how to monitor coral spawning—specifically for the star corals Orbicella annularis and Orbicella faveolata, both of which are at-risk in the region due to SCTLD—set up Coral Rearing In-Situ Basins (CRIBs), and perform assisted fertilization. To date, this has been the first training on this technique in Honduras! We anticipate performing assisted fertilization on at least two species in 2023 to enhance the number of viable offspring. Additionally, 2023 will mark our third year monitoring coral spawning events and the completion of RMP’s Coral Spawning Calendar.

At RMP we genuinely believe that anyone can be involved in science and have meaningful contributions to research. That is why in collaboration with Fins, Ilili, Andrews University, Cayos Cochinos, WSORC and Sea Lucas, we created three virtual forms so that citizen scientists can contribute their marine megafauna sightings in Bay Islands. Our forms are focused on marine mammals, eagle rays, and sharks, with each form attempting to answer a different set of questions. For sharks and marine mammals, we want to know what species live in the Bay Islands, and for eagle rays, we want to be able to photograph individuals and understand their movements. Sightings do not have to be limited to Roatan; data can be gathered from citizen scientists anywhere in Honduras, assisting us in understanding the migratory patterns of various species.

To view these and all the other dive sites around the island, you can access an interactive map via our website, roatanmarinepark.org/resources and click on “dive site map”. The funds raised through the RMP bracelets and tokens go directly to the maintenance of moorings and channel markers. These are collectable items for visitors, residents and locals. Thank you to all the dive shops that promote them!

This year the mooring field was visited by a higher number of bigger vessels so it was deemed necessary to install four moorings to accommodate these heavier boats. While the 25 moorings consisting of two 6ft screws can adequately hold 40+ft sailboats, four new moorings with three screws and half a drum of concrete were installed. A proportion of the funds generated from the mooring field go towards the West End “Patronato” Community Association and has gone towards projects that benefit the community.