Where the sea meets the sky…

By Renata Ferrari Legorreta

There is a place in the forgotten south of Belize where the Caribbean Sea meets the sky and for a moment you can think you might be in heaven.  The Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR) is all this and more for the marine fauna and

flora of southern Belize.  The PHMR is a key multiuse reserve for the sustainability of both human and marine life survival in the southern end of the Mesoamerican barrier reef system, the longest barrier reef on the western hemisphere.  It lies between the barrier and the shore and it protects over a hundred mangrove cayes which provide the perfect nursery and growing grounds for juvenile lobster, conch, snappers, groupers and others. 

As if this was not enough, the PHMR protects some of the healthiest seagrass beds in the area, which are a source of food for marine turtles and manatees, and maintain the off shore waters clear so the corals around the Snake Cayes and in the Barrier reef can strive and provide an adequate habitat for reef fish spawning aggregations, sharks, rays, reef fish, and an infinite list of other organisms.  Furthermore, the PHMR is linked to the Payne’s Creek National Park and TIDE’s Private Lands, which protect the watershed that empties into the Gulf of Honduras, providing a comprehensive system of protection and unique opportunity for sustainable management of the natural resources of the area.

In this paradise live the parrot fish, you can specifically find them foraging around

the Snake Cayes of the PHMR.   Parrot fish (Scaridae spp. and Sparisoma spp.) and long spine sea urchins (Diadema antillarum) are the only efficient herbivores of Caribbean reefs.  This means that they are capable of grazing the macro algae on a reef, therefore preventing it to change into an algal dominated state.  Macroalgae are like the bad herbs of the reef, once it takes over it is very hard for corals to recover.  Once a reef is covered in macroalgae the reef organisms that live there cannot find the appropriate food nor shelter to survive.  Furthermore, the structure of the reef weakens making it and the coasts that it protects more vulnerable to storms and hurricanes.

There are two main human induced threats that help macroalgae: 1) Pollution that increases the nutrients in coastal waters, such as shrimp farms, agriculture and sewage; and 2) over fishing of herbivores such as parrotfish.  While the world and Belize face environmental problems that may seem out of our hands, for example global warming and ocean acidification, macroalgae is a major threat to Belizean coral reefs that we can address in our daily lives.  You might be asking “how to?”  It is not hard to ask fishermen for snapper, hogfish, mackerel or any other fish that is NOT parrotfish when we are at the market.  It is us that create the market.  Also, it is important that we are aware of where our sewage goes to, avoid clearing mangroves and support only the shrimp farms that are known to treat their waste water instead of pumping it directly to the sea.  After all, it is in our hands to save our marine resources for the future generations.