Since 2005 the RMP team has worked tirelessly to keep the health of our reefs by reducing its threats. With SCTLD found around the whole island, our current goal is to implement coral restoration through assisted reproduction and growth. We found that SCTLD treated colonies of grooved brain corals were able to spawn this year, giving these colonies a fighting chance to naturally restore the reef.
As a part of the SCTLD project funded by the Swiss cooperation, the RMP has started the construction of the “Coral Restoration Center of Roatan”, which will serve as an educational center for the general public. Here visitors will learn more about the BINMP, its ecosystems including coral reefs and the different coral restoration techniques the RMP uses to restore.
In February, SECORE and Biodiversidad y Negocios - GIZ visited the RMP and Utila Coral Foundation to begin a 5 year collaboration to improve Honduras' coral reefs by implementing coral seeding methods and technologies. This year we started validating our coral spawning predictive calendar which is critical to our new coral restoration effort for this year, growing corals from larvae.
The RMP, through our research program, was given the Conservation Leadership Program Award which will aid in educating Roatan’s youth about our projects through a program called “Ocean Youth Program” which will complement the coral restoration efforts and will strengthen community involvement.
Over the last months we’ve collaborated with international scientists and various organizations, collecting data through sightings of sharks, spotted eagle rays, and marine mammals to create the first marine megafauna database of Honduras. We are also collaborating with Coral Reef Alliance and Aqualink and have installed 3 smart buoys around the island to record temperature, wave heights, wind, and overall heat stress. These buoys will help us monitor our marine ecosystems more closely and we intend to install further buoys in the near future.
Carolina Rojas, Research Associate