Wet season is almost over, the boats are in great shape, and improvements to the patrol
program are well underway in readiness for a busy high season. The majority of the mooring
infrastructure has been repaired or replaced after the winter storms, and the infrastructure
program has expanded to provide more moorings and channel markers than ever seen before.
We are making it easier than ever for you to report infrastructure damage, and our education
and public awareness activities are getting ever more inventive. Research and volunteer
opportunities are soon to take shape and become more structured with the arrival of an
additional member to our team, and water quality monitoring has already begun through the
help of appropriately qualified volunteers. With so much activity going on now at the Marine
Park, it’s becoming quite a squeeze to fit in our little office!
Patrols
Patrol Schedule Shakeup
While the Roatán Marine Park boat fleet remains an integral part of our patrol system, our Park Rangers have continued to make excellent progress with beach patrols, demonstrating a dramatic increase in intervention of illegal activities within the Reserve. This is not to say that our boat patrols are not effective; the boat patrols are essential in monitoring sail vessels, advising and educating tourists, enabling the police to enforce Honduran MarineLaw, reporting damaged mooring lines, and, if need be, boat rescues. As such, this double-pronged approach is proving to be the most effective environmental protectionstrategy yet seen in the Reserve.
In order to combat increasingly clandestine marine resource extraction, we have recently
developed and implemented a new random patrol scheme. This presents many difficulties, as
patrol schedules are primarily limited by the hours we can secure police. Park Ranger rosters,
equipment logistics, and provision of office staff to man radios are organized around police
availability. Policemen also have families, making it tricky to put patrols out during the small
hours (when most of the illegal resource extraction takes place). Nevertheless, through newly
implemented incentive schemes for both Police and Park Rangers, we have managed to increase
the frequency with which we operate night-long patrols which, combined with the day patrols,
accumulate to an average of 16 hours a day of monitoring throughout the entire 13.5 kilometer
long Reserve. The new patrol scheme uses more thorough time randomization, as well as
targeted patrols designed to coincide with documented repetitive behavior of potential
lawbreakers.
Results
It should be mentioned that the new patrol scheme became immediately effective, resulting in the capture of Hammer, a repeatoffender, for possession of undersized conch and lobster the night after
commencing night-long patrols. Under Honduran Law, those arrested three times for violation of fishing laws in the Bay Islands Protected Area face deportation to the mainland, along with a condsiderable jail
sentence in La Ceiba. The RMP has done everything possible to provide the authorities with sufficient evidence to enable them to carry this out, but it remains to be seen whether the sentence Hammer has earned himself becomes a reality.
Indicators of Patrol Success
While arrests are a clear indicator of patrolling success, our Park Rangers work hard to
protect the Marine Park through many activities which do not result in arrests. Such actions
include responding to the many frequent calls from the community concerning children or
teenagers who have been seen with illegal items such as spears or conch. In these cases, Patrol
Police confiscate the items and caution the young offenders. Then, most importantly, the
youths are educated about the importance of maintaining a sense of environmental
responsibility when utilizing marine resources in Roatán, in order to safeguard and maintain the
capacity of this reef to sustainably provide work, recreation and food to those that live here.
For those of you not aware, we recently acquired a brand new
25hp Suzuki 4-stroke boat engine, paid for with grant money from
both CORAL and USAID. James spent a considerable amount of
time making sure that the new engine was properly run in, which
should help to explain why he was seen motoring round in circles
for hours on end in Half Moon Bay a couple of weeks ago! The
engine is now on the big boat and ready for patrol service.
South Side Patrols
Patrols on the South Side are busier than ever with many items such
as nets, spear guns, and hooks being confiscated this month. Also, we
have been able save many more conchs and lobsters from illegal
fishing practices.
South Side Fisherman’s Alliance
Always looking toward the future, the RMP Southside Chapter has begun approaching
fishermen in the area to discuss the possibility of forming a Fisherman’s Alliance on the south
side of Roatan. This proposition is very exciting because it is designed to integrate the
requirements of both fishermen and other stakeholders who use the reef for diving, snorkeling,
water sports, and many other activities. The Alliance would provide fishermen with a voice in
decision making processes relating to the future of marine resource use, and create a body
through which other stakeholders can communicate with fishermen about various matters such
as implementation of new and existing laws, future reef zoning projects, and any other issues.
South Side Fisherman’s Alliance
Always looking toward the future, the RMP Southside Chapter has begun approaching
fishermen in the area to discuss the possibility of forming a Fisherman’s Alliance on the south
side of Roatan. This proposition is very exciting because it is designed to integrate the
requirements of both fishermen and other stakeholders who use the reef for diving, snorkeling,
water sports, and many other activities. The Alliance would provide fishermen with a voice in
decision making processes relating to the future of marine resource use, and create a body
through which other stakeholders can communicate with fishermen about various matters such
as implementation of new and existing laws, future reef zoning projects, and any other issues
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