We are taking refuge from the storm in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It is only 10 kilometers from the coast of Cancun. The island is 7.5 kilometers long and 500 meters wide. Yesterday the port was closed to maritime traffic because of the bad weather. In March of 1517 the Spanish expedition of Francisco de Córdova … Read more
Sadly, we leave the Honduran Keys without having had the chance to visit the local Garifuna communities. The ambitiousness of our work agenda and the bad weather has prevented it. The Garifuna are descendents of the African slaves who, across the vicissitudes of history, established themselves in this area of Honduras but maintained their ethnic … Read more
Today we documented a zone of mud and fine sediment situated between the protected area of the Cayos Cochinos archipelago and the Honduran continental coast. This is the site of a good deal of illegal trawling, for many of the shrimping boats do not respect the legal fishing distance from the coast. These areas are … Read more
We never know what the weather will be like. Yesterday afternoon was clear but windy; the night was more calm. Most of the activities we have planned at Cayos Cochinos depend on the weather we have. Today we are diving at Mariposales and looking for an airplane that crashed here – fortunately no one was … Read more
Everyone aboard, the Oceana Ranger heads for the dock at Cayo Cochino Menor. We have barely been docked five minutes when the launch “Tiburon” arrives with the journalists from Channel 7, of the Honduran television show TeleCeiba. During the presentation of all the equipment we tell them all about the Ranger expedition. This morning we’ll … Read more
Yesterday we decided that four of us would go visit the indigenous Garifuna communities in various parts of the small keys, with the object of documenting their traditional way of life and sustainable exploitation of the waters that surround their villages. To document the daily life of the community we wake at five in the … Read more
We eat breakfast at 7 in the morning on Cayo Cochino Menor, prepare picnic lunches for the divers, and the Ranger expedition divides into two groups for the activities of the day. The research team and divers climb aboard the Honduran Coral Reef Fund’s launch “Tiburón,” which is waiting for us at the dock. The … Read more
We arrive at night at La Ceiba – at Lagoon Marina, specifically – and happily we are met at the mouth of the port and shown to our mooring. Suddenly the vastness of the ocean is replaced by a narrow corridor of green water lined by lush, extravagant vegetation, mangroves, herons that wake in the … Read more
Early in the morning we had the chance to meet with Adrian Oviedo, the Director of the Foundation for the Protection of the Reefs of Honduras (Fundación para la Protección de los Arrecifes de Honduras), who is leading the conservation Project at Cayos Cochinos. We coordinated our work plans for the upcoming days. We hope … Read more
During the night of the 13th of March we had very good wind and were able to sail for several hours. With a wind speed of 25-30 knots and only the jib up we went at 9-10 knots. It was a wonderful feeling after so many hours traveling by motor – since until now we … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.
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