The accelerated development of the Bay Islands brought a high recurrence of mechanical damage to the reef through reef anchoring and the collision of vessels. In order to reduce mechanical damage to the reef, we created our Marine Infrastructure Program to offer boat owners alternatives to reef anchoring. We install dive and snorkel mooring around the perimeter of the islands which enable boats to moor and therefore protect coral and living species. We have successfully reduced damage caused by anchoring on the reef and fuel being dumped directly on these ecosystems. We have also installed channel markers to demarcate the exit and entry points of the majority of the highly trafficked areas around Roatán, increasing the safety of navigating through narrow channels and reducing the occurrence of collisions. To date, we have installed and maintained over 329 dive and snorkel moorings, 186 channel markers, and 20 demarcation markers accounting for an estimated 95% of the marine infrastructure around Roatan. These important and costly installations are available for all boat owners and are frequently used by dive shops, fishermen, and snorkel tour operators. We hope to keep this community service available and install more channel markers and dive moorings in the east end of the island by the end of 2020. Every time a supporter donates to name a dive site, their gift will cover the cost of maintaining four other dive moorings.
