As climate change heats up our planet, one of the most affected areas is our oceans and more specifically, our coral reefs. This summer I had the amazing opportunity to dive at the gorgeous reefs still present around the small island Roatan, Honduras. These reefs are in surprisingly good shape still and this is mostly thanks to the fact that they are all in protected areas. However, as the ocean temperatures continue to rise, it is unclear how much longer these reefs will remain in their current state.
For this project, I hope to preserve the memory of the reefs as I saw them this summer through various media including an interactive map, photos and videos of the reefs, and even a small section on fish identification. This project works two-fold; one it serves as a lasting digital record of this natural heritage, and two to serve as an inspiration to increase efforts in combating climate change in order to save these diverse ecosystems.
All photos and videos are taken by my sister (Paige Harris) or myself.
Interactive Map of Scuba Sites
Click the link below to view the interactive map I put together of different dive sites around the island. This is not a complete map as I personally have not dove every site around the West End nor did my sister take photos at each. In theory, it would be lovely to expand this idea into a forum type site for divers to add their own media and descriptions or comments of sites to keep updating the map as time goes on. Disclaimer: these are not exact locations.
https://felt.com/map/Roatan-Honduras-Dive-Sites-AXZaTSA4Q66qU3eHC8hhJC?lat=16.289281&lon=-86.599394&zoom=13.42
Quick Fish Identification
In this section, I’ll go through a mini fish identification lesson with some of the common fishes you can find on these reefs. All of these photos were taken by my sister or I while on the trip. Enjoy!
Little fish: Below are some of the schooling and smaller fish that can be spotted on dives. The Sharpnose Puffer were tiny little fish that were everywhere during our dives but were extremely hard to photograph due to their size.
Angelfish: There are five main types of angel fish you can spot in Caribbean reefs with three pictured below. My favorite fish to spot on a dive are definitely the French Angelfish as I love the black and yellow coloring. A fun fact about French Angelfish is that they mate for life so you will almost always spot these fish as pairs (don’t worry the pair for the one pictured here was right off screen)
Bigger Fish: The first row showcases three different types of parrot fish that can be found on reefs. Then, we can see two different types of filefish followed by two types of triggerfish (my sister’s favorite fish is the second one, the Black Durgon). Then we have a pair of barracudas, a black grouper, a pair of spadefish, and finally a Jolthead Porgy. This is just a handful of the different bigger fish you can expect to find on the reefs around Roatan and the diversity of fish life makes every dive exciting.
Turtles: While there are three common turtle types you can spot around the Caribbean, we only managed to spot one type on all of our dives; the Hawksbill. Turtles are always a favorite among divers and often when one is spotted, the group will pause and watch them for a while.
Green Moray Eel: Morays are cool enough to have their own gallery here. While other types of eels are common on Caribbean reefs, we only spotted Moray eels while on our dives. They are pretty common on the reefs around Roatan and can be spotted either chilling under overhangs or even free swimming around. Always a treat to spot.
Misc (Crustaceans and Cephalopods and more): It is a bit harder to ID crustaceans so some of the crustaceans might just be general species instead of specific types.
Rays: While a few different varieties of rays can be found in the Caribbean, we only spotted (ha) a spotted eagle ray on our trip. These gorgeous creatures are always fun to watch as they glide through the water. If you are lucky and can spot one eating along the sandy bottom it is quite a treat.
Lionfish: The scourge of the Caribbean. Lionfish are one of the few invasive species that have been wreaking havoc on marine life across the Caribbean. Native to the Indian ocean, these highly toxic fish have no natural predators in the Caribbean and have thrown off the balance of these reefs. In an attempt to help combat this invasive species, dive shops have been allowing divers to hunt these fish while they dive. This benefits almost everyone as divers delight in hunting these fish and help control their population on reefs. Lionfish meat is also quite good and divers are allowed to keep their catch with some dive shops even offering to prepare the fish after a successful hunting trip. A word of caution though; the spines on these fish are fairly toxic and getting stabbed by one hurts a lot so be careful when hunting them!
An Important Conclusion: Climate Change
To wrap up this project, I would now like to take a moment to talk about a very important topic: climate change. As I hope I have showcased above, the reefs around Roatan are beautiful and full of life. But as beautiful as they currently are, they still remain under dire threat of climate change. While pulling together media and information for this project, I was reminded of the fact that I was incredibly lucky to experience these reefs and the wildlife that call them home. Having the opportunity to become scuba certified and dive in the Caribbean is not a luxury many can afford, and one hope for this project was to allow those who cannot dive these reefs in person a glimpse into the beautiful the world holds under the waves. By showcasing the diverse wildlife, beautiful coral formations, and sheer beauty of the deep blue, I hope to encourage conservation efforts and conversations to help preserve these for future generations to come.
In Roatan, the reefs are all located in a protected marine park that prioritizes the health of the reefs. It is most likely due to this protection that the reefs remain in such good shape today. To directly support the park and their efforts in conservation, check out the link below.
https://www.roatanmarinepark.org/about-us
In the end, this project is meant more as a stepping stone to something bigger; preserving the condition of the reefs at this moment in time in order to encourage change. This project does not necessarily take direct action to combat climate change but nonetheless serves as an important step in that direction as documenting the ecosystem can hopefully encourage direct action and also, in the worst case scenario, preserve the memory of these reefs against the destruction of climate change if we are unable to save the reefs themselves.
Resources & Acknowledgments
Again, all photos and videos are taken by myself or my sister.
https://reefguide.org/carib/index1.html – A useful site for fish identification
https://roatan.online/dive-site-map – Used to help locate dive sites in Roatan