Coastal Policy Internship Update # 1
Jennifer Keck
Monday, January 7, 2002
It seems strange to be calling this day the start of my internship. While it is technically the start of the
winter courses that I have enrolled in, I in fact have been working in this very job that I will be receiving
credit for over 4 years. I am, however, extremely excited about the opportunity to receive credit for the job
I perform. While I have had many opportunities in this position to apply the knowledge learned from past
academic courses, each day in the field, I am constantly learning new things, expanding my awareness
and adding to the knowledge base I already have.
So for the first entry I thought perhaps a little introduction to me and my job would be in order. I am the
Education and Research Coordinator at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), a small,
privately operated research and educational facility located in the Bay Islands off the north coast of
Honduras. An important aspect of my position involves coordinating field programs for visiting university
and college groups from the United States. While these student groups are here, I conduct intensive field
programs, train students in the identification of Caribbean marine life and underwater research techniques
and help to facilitate individual research projects. My daily contact with the marine habitats of Roatan has
given me an extensive familiarity with Caribbean flora and fauna and coral reef ecology.
A second and equally important aspect of my job involves the supervision of the long-term marine
monitoring project, which documents the change in substrate composition, fish and invertebrate
populations and water quality on the reefs of Roatan. It was the gradual and continual degradation of
Roatan’s reefs that led to the implementation of the monitoring project. The goal of this monitoring project
is to better understand the natural processes and dynamics of the reefs on Roatan so that we may
continue to manage these important resources for the future. This documentation will be instrumental in
our efforts to expand the marine reserve and enforce laws against practices that pose threats to the
marine environments on which the Bay Islands are dependent. In the six years that the project has been
in motion RIMS has obtained a wealth of information, which has been provided to local, country and
regional conservation agencies in an effort to assist in the sound and timely decisions regarding the
conservation and management of the island’s biodiversity and natural resources.
I am extremely fortunate to have such supportive bosses to allow me the opportunity to take time off to
pursue a Masters in Marine Science. I spent the fall quarter in the states beginning my master’s program.
I chose NOVA because of the distance courses, such as this one, that will enable me to continue to work
down here while advancing my education. During this past quarter, I was also able to secure the topic of
my thesis, which will be the current research that I have been conducting and will continue to do so while
I am here. One of the goals for this internship, which will help assist me in the background for my own
thesis, is to research the history of coastal policy in the Bay Islands, and the direction that management is
heading. There are major frustrations here involving the dissemination of current information and past
research. Many baseline studies have been conducted by independent and outside parties, and
unfortunately the information often leaves when the funding dries up. My only fear is that much of what I
find, will be in Spanish, which will be a big challenge for me to understand. Despite noble plans to learn
Spanish while here, the little contact I have with Spanish on a daily basis has not given me quite the
opportunity I thought to become more fluent.
Tuesday, January 8, 2002
So my internship finds me full swing in the coordination of a university group. Goucher College is in their
second week of their two-week stay. The professor has been bringing students to our facility for the past
8 years. The first week of their trip has consisted of extensive identification exercises to learn the local
marine flora and fauna. The activities and programs planned for the second week will allow them to put
their identification skills to practice. Today begins with a lecture on marine monitoring techniques. We
discuss the different methods used to assess reef composition or substrate cover. After learning to
identify most of the species of corals they will get the chance during the two dives of the day to practice
some of these techniques.
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
Today we continue with marine monitoring but instead of monitoring the substrate, we will turn our
attentions to more mobile organisms on the reef: the fish. The lecture aims to heighten their awareness of
potential threats to reef fish and their environments and the impacts on the local community. After the
lecture, the students get to practice their fish identification skills that they should have "mastered" last
week. This provides them with "hands-on" experience in the practical assessment of assessing fish
populations by performing "indicator species" fish surveys.
Thursday, January 10, 2002
Half of the student group went to the All You Can Eat Lobster special at a nearby restaurant. "For only
$23, how can you pass it up?" they say. Today, however, they are all feeling quite guilty about their
gluttonous night. I asked them if any of them had seen a lobster yet on the reef? Only one student had
seen one. I asked them how big the lobster tails were. While the first batch looked like the typical
restaurant serving size they continued to get progressively smaller and smaller as their plated were
refilled. The species of lobster targeted commercially is Panularis argus, the Caribbean Spiny Lobster.
The students told me that many of the lobsters they ate had spotted exoskeletons. They were actually
being served the Caribbean Spotted Lobster, Panularis guttatus. The lobsters that are being served at
many of the local restaurants are being supplied by local fisherman who collect them illegally within the
Sandy Bay Marine Reserve. Obviously they are not being discriminatory towards a particular species. I’ve
been told that even Slipper lobsters are served in restaurants. Not quite the ideal learning experience, but
it allowed us to spend some time talking about fishery issues, stock collapse and habitat degradation.
Friday, January 11, 2002
The student group is rounding out the end of their trip with a unique dive experience. They have decided
to charter a boat for an all day dive trip to the island of Barbareta. Barbareta is located on the eastern end
of Roatan past the islands of Helene and Morat. It is the 4th largest island (1,200 acres) in the Bay
Islands and is privately owned. A few locals and the island’s owner live here year-round. Aside from these
few inhabitants, this wildly beautiful mountainous island remains untouched and undeveloped. Crystal
clear water and unspoiled reefs are found right off shore. The boat ride offers great opportunities to view
some of the small fishing villages scattered along the shore.
Saturday, January 12, 2002
This morning, I presented the results of the first three years of the long term reef monitoring project to the
students group. The results of this study include data from transects that were sampled over a three year
period at the same localities before and after an extensive bleaching event in 1998-99 and Hurricane
Mitch which struck in late October of 1998. Roatan has also experienced rapid population growth and
coastal development in the past decade leading to increased anthropogenic stress on the reef
ecosystem.
Sunday, January 13, 2002
This morning the group from Goucher leaves and a new group arrives in the evening. The new group is
Salisbury State University. After preparing the facility for the new group I have a small window of time to
get in a dive to collect the water monitoring data. I have not been out to collect the data in almost 4
months. While the computers are equipped to store over 4 months of information, I try to collect them
once a month. If one has malfunctioned or has been lost, then I can get a replacement out without the
loss of too much data. But I have been in the states for the past three months and I’m anxious to see how
well they have fared through several tropical storms that hit Roatan while I was gone.
Monday, January 14, 2002
The first few hours of this morning is spent in the class giving the students an orientation to the facility,
background history and information on the Sandy Bay Marine Reserve.
The Bay Islanders have relied on the natural resources found offshore for many centuries. Today, in
addition to having a great biological importance, the reefs of Roatan are now the island’s major tourist
attraction. In 1988 the community of Sandy Bay united and proposed a managed marine reserve to
protect the shoreline, and marine habitats in the waters adjacent to Sandy Bay. The original reserve
encompassed a 4-mile (6 km) area between Lawson’s Rock and Gibson Bight. In 1992 the Bay Island’s
Conservation Association (BICA) was elected to supervise the administration and management of the
reserve. Today, the initiative of local dive resorts and the municipality of Roatan support the reserve. In
September of 1993, the communities of West End and West Bay agreed to extend the Sandy Bay Marine
Reserve from Gibson Bight all the way around the western tip of the island to Key Hole on the south side
of Roatan.
Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Last night it rained heavily for several hours. It let up towards sunrise but the sky opened up again just
before the group was scheduled for the morning snorkel. The water in the channel was bright red
providing a great opportunity to drive home the issue of development, runoff and the effects of
sedimentation. Roatan is an extremely hilly island. Only 5% of the land is considered flat. When it rains,
there is only one place for the water to run and that is down the hills and into the ocean. Increased
development over the past decade has caused the premature clearing of many properties before they
have been sold and are ready to be built upon. Large tracts of land lie bare and subject to intense erosion
during heavy rains and storms. The island is metamorphic in origin and much of the soil is comprised of
fine particle red clay. Add this to the development issue and you have what we see this morning, a
horrible red mess.
Wednesday, January 16, 2002
My group walked from the community of West Bay to West End along the beach, a distance of about two
miles. During this walk we discussed coastal issues such as development, garbage disposal, trash
impacts on the shore, erosion, runoff etc. For the last portion of the program the group brought trash bags
and we cleaned a portion of the beach. The area that we cleaned was maybe a quarter of a mile but we
ended up with twelve garbage bags full of trash, mostly plastics. Quite a few students commented on the
fact that many locals watched us with looks not of appreciation but more looks of "why are you wasting
your time". Education needs to start with the community. Next year the professor and the students
suggested that we try to make arrangements to visit a local school near the facility, discuss trash and
than invite them to participate in a beach cleanup in their community giving awards to those students who
pick up the most trash.
Thursday, January 17, 2002
Carlos Cordero, Director of Marine Resources for PMAIB (Projecto Manejo Ambiental de Islas de Bahia)
came this afternoon and spoke with my student group. With the assistance of a translator he discussed
the status of the reefs and what the future holds for them. PMAIB is the Bay Islands Environmental
Management Program, one of the first pilot natural resources management project in the Caribbean
Basin. Its purpose is to achieve an integrated management plan for the Bay Islands.
Saturday, January 19, 2002
My student group is leaving tomorrow. After a final snorkel, the group packs up their stuff and ends the
trip with a visit to West End. After a few hours of bargaining at the local souvenir stands, the group meets
at Sueno del Mar for a sunset drink. Many students remark about the number of polished conch shells,
dried seahorses, sea stars, and jewelry made from black coral that were being sold at the shops and
stands. All of the students refused to by any of these items. It’s nice to see that the issues we’ve spent
the week discussing have left an impact. While they purchased gifts to support the local community they
declined to buy those that will degrade the environment. Now we just need to focus our efforts on
teaching the vendors that the value of these creatures is much higher alive than on their shelves
Sunday, January 20, 2002
The group from Salisbury leaves this morning. After three weeks without a day off, I am taking a much
needed break.