Local
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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Want to Protect Fisheries? Involve the Community.
Lea esto en español During a recent interview, Dr. Antonella Rivera, CORAL’s Principal Investigator in Honduras, perfectly summed up our approach to conservation: “If we really want to make a difference with science, we have to involve the people who are most affected.” People and communities are always at the forefront of our work to…
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Aquaculture: An Alternative to Overfishing in Honduras
Lea esto en español Could aquaponics and aquaculture be a sustainable alternative to overfishing? According to Julio San Martin Chicas, our Principal Program Coordinator in Tela Bay, Honduras, the answer is yes: If specific fish can be adequately and competitively farmed using small-scale aquaculture, then we can alleviate fishing pressure on the reef. Aquaculture refers…
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Hawai’i County Allocates $1.8 Million to Clean Water and Coral Reefs
The Hawai‘i County Council on March 3 voted to approve the allocation of $1.8 million to address ocean sewage pollution in Puakō, Hawai‘i. The Puakō coastline is one of 14 priority sites that have been identified in Hawai‘i as areas to be transitioned off of cesspools. Across the state, an estimated 88,000 cesspools release 53…
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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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Talking Story About Maui’s Coral Reefs
Last month, we were honored to be selected by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) as a recipient of the Coral Reef Conservation Fund grant, our second in as many years. The grant supports our restoration projects in West Maui, Hawai‘i where we’re planting native plants along stream banks and degraded agricultural lands to…
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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…
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Maui 10-Year-Old Grows 900 Native Plants to Protect Coral Reefs
10-year-old Abby Rogers has converted her backyard into a native plant nursery to help save coral reefs. Rogers is a volunteer with the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), helping to grow native plants that will be transplanted at their stream restoration site in Wahikuli. The native plants trap sediment that runs off the slope and into…
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CORAL Helps Revitalize Bay Island Economies in Honduras
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented economic crisis across the globe—particularly in countries and regions that are highly dependent upon tourism revenue. In Honduras, for example, eight percent of the GDP comes from tourism. Spring break is one of their most popular travel periods when tourists from around the world flock to the Bay…
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Income Diversification Projects Build Human and Ecosystem Resilience
Coral reefs provide an important source of food and income for coastal and island communities around the world, but more than 55 percent of reefs are threatened by overfishing globally. Coral reefs depend on fish like parrotfish and surgeonfish to consume seaweeds (also called macroalgae) and prevent them from overgrowing and smothering coral reefs. Entrepreneurial…