Roatán Island is the perfect tropical getaway for divers and snorkelers. Few of them see the poverty and environmental degradation in the small community of El Berrinche, even though it’s near the popular West End dive area.
But El Berrinche is taking steps to reclaim its marine environment. It’s declared a 20-acre no-take zone just offshore, in Half Moon Bay, to protect coral reefs damaged by overfishing. (Sewage, which was untreated until 2012, also caused damage. In 2017, Seacology funded repairs to the treatment plant.) A 2018 survey by Healthy Reefs for Healthy People showed a decline in biodiversity. There were fewer parrotfish and other species critical to reef health.
The prospects for recovery are good. The beach received a 2019 Blue Flag Beach Award for meeting strict water quality standards. Under the new rules, only hook-and-line fishing is allowed. Boat traffic, which has injured kids swimming there, is banned. Roatán Marine Park, a partner of Seacology in other projects on the island, will install buoys to mark the area and will patrol it regularly.
Working with Polo’s Water Association, Seacology is funding a new environmental education hub with computers, books, and supplies such as fish ID cards and snorkel gear. Roatán Marine Park will provide a year-round environmental educator. This is an enormous benefit to the community, where children have little access to books or computers. And because families don’t have computers or internet at home, students lost a year of school during the pandemic.
In addition to classroom instruction, kids will take part in beach clean-ups and surveys of fish, corals, and algae. This fieldwork helps ensure good management of the beach. It also gives youth skills they can apply in conservation careers, steering them away from environmentally damaging sources of income.
