Roatan
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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Celebrating the Success of Local Partners Who Overcame Challenges During COVID-19
Think back to 2020—hospital visits rose as COVID cases climbed, borders closed, businesses and schools shut down, and people panicked. The world we once knew spun upside down in a matter of days. And like so many, ocean conservation organizations, which depend highly on tourism revenue, suddenly faced unprecedented challenges as they worked to protect…
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How Do Corals Reproduce? And What Can We Do to Keep Them Healthy?
Like the birds and the bees, corals also need to reproduce and continue to build upon the colorful reefs that we know and love. But have you ever wondered how the coral animal reproduces? After all, it can’t move and it doesn’t have any reproductive organs. Let’s take a look at exactly how new coral…
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Inside Our Alliance: Serving the Local Community with Trudy Hilton
At just 31 years old, Trudy Hilton, a local from the island of Roatan, Honduras is determined to make a lasting impact in her community. She recently became Roatan’s new vice mayor and is focusing on improving the long-term sustainability of the island and its natural environments. We’re proud to call Hilton a local partner,…
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Thank You for Investing in Water and Sanitation
Clean water is critical—both for the health of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them. That’s why we support sanitation efforts in places like Coxen Hole, Honduras. Coxen Hole is a community on the island of Roatan, which is located just off the country’s northern coastline. Coxen Hole depends on its coral reefs,…
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Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Detected in Honduras — Here’s What That Means
While the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world, a destructive disease was also wreaking havoc underwater on coral reefs: stony coral tissue loss disease. This fast-spreading disease, which can rapidly kill huge swaths of coral if left untreated, was recently discovered in coral reefs off the coasts of Roatán, Guanaja, and Utila, three Caribbean islands…
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Cordelia Banks, a site that offers hope to the Mesoamerican Reef
This article is translated from the original article written in Spanish by MAR Fund. Written By Lucy Calderón, Communications Intern at MAR Fund, and Translated by Centro Oxford Popularly known as staghorn corals, due to the similarity of their structure with that of the antler of the mammal in question, the Acropora cervicornis corals are…
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Could Cleaner Water Mean Farewell for Coral Disease?
Lea esto en español When improperly treated sewage enters the marine environment, it can have devastating effects on a coral reef. Not only does it bring bacteria that can pose a threat to human health, but it also brings nutrients that fuel the growth of algae—a fierce competitor in the coral reef ecosystem. Algae compete…
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Roatán Marine Park: A Year of Strength
Over the last 15 years, we’ve stood alongside the Roatán Marine Park (RMP) as they’ve grown into the model marine management organization that they are today. They set the standard for how a marine protected area should be managed, and we’ve been honored to partner with them to build capacity and ensure they have the…
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Finding Resilience in Honduras
As Executive Director of the Roatán Marine Park, Francis Lean can relate to her tourist clientele—she used to be one of them. Originally from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, Lean used to join the 1.6 million people who visited Roatán on vacation each year. Roatán is one of the three main islands that make up…