[Coral-List] Swan Islands, Honduras

Sam Reitman samreitman at gmail.com
Thu Mar 25 11:41:15 EDT 2010


I have been working as a Dive Professional in the Bay Islands for the past 3
years and although I have not seen the condition of the reef with my own
eyes, a co-worker had the chance to dive there from the Utila Aggressor live
aboard dive yacht and the consensus from that trip was that the reefs around
the island are not in a condition that would make them a regular stop on the
Aggressor Itinerary, apparently due mainly to overfishing/harvesting from
the reef despite the on and off again military presence, Honduran and U.S.
on the island. As far as development on the island goes, the logistics of
developing the place, when compared to developments planned or underway on
Utila and Roatan would make  any serious attempt at the development of a
resort/hotel/cruise ship terminal seem unlikely. Good news for the Birds!

2010/3/25 Szmant, Alina <szmanta at uncw.edu>

> I did a quick read of the report and they are suggesting a cruise ship
> terminal to support some form of ecotourism.  The island is tiny, a few
> miles long at most and less than a mile wide.  Mentioned in the report was
> building of hotels, restaurants etc on the larger island.  Ecological
>  mistake!  Mistake!  Mistake!  Leave the place alone.  Do people have to
> trample on every spec of land even hundreds of kms in the middle of nowhere?
>  I hope Honduran NGOs will fight to prevent such development of a major bird
> and turtle nesting site, and possibly less impacted coral reefs (if
> bleaching hasn't hit the area).
>
> Alina Szmant
>
> **********************************************
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant
> Professor of Marine Biology
> Coral Reef Research Program,
> Center for Marine Science,
> University of North Carolina Wilmington
> 5600 Marvin K. Moss Lane
> Wilmington NC 28409
> Tel:  (910)962-2362; fax: (910)962-2410;  cell:  (910)200-3913
>  http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
> **********************************************
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Andrés Alegría
> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 10:10 AM
> To: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Swan Islands, Honduras
>
> Mr. Bryce,
>
> In 2007, the Honduran government published an analysis on the development
> potential of Swan Islands. The document includes an overview on botanic,
> zoology and marine characteristics.
>
> It is in spanish. You may download the document "Análisis del Potencial de
> Desarrollo en las Islas del Cisne" from this link:
>
> http://hondubirding.wordpress.com/downloads/
>
> Andrés Alegría
> _________________________________________
> Investigación y Monitoreo Biológico
> Departamento de Áreas Protegidas / ICF
> tel.:  +(504) 223-3248
> skype: andres.alegria
>
>
> > I'm looking for any information on the Swan Islands (Honduras) and/or
> > anyone
> > with interest in the Swan Islands.  Has anyone been there or know of any
> > work that has been done there that someone could refer me to?
> >
> > Mahalos,
> > Bryce
> > --
> > Bryce Groark
> > www.livingoceanproductions.com
> > 808.345.4538
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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