Set to the task of completing 20 coral reef surveys
and training 40 people in the Reef Check method, Green Reef "took to the
sea" the first two weeks of August. Green Reef is the regional training
center for Reef Check in Belize, and is responsible for training
interested people in the Reef Check methodology, and completing surveys
to send to the international headquarters. Reef Check was founded in 1997
as a grassroots, volunteer initiative to help local communities learn how
to monitor the health of their coral reefs using a standard,
scientifically rigorous method. Over 60 countries are currently using the
Reef Check method to monitor the health of their reefs. The information
the volunteer teams collect is compiled at the Reef Check Headquarters in
the United States to give community members, scientists, and advocates a
picture of reef health around the world. This information can be used to
help communities and marine protected areas better manage their reefs,
and can be used to educate local people about the importance of the reef
and the threats that the reef "right outside their doors" is
facing.
This year, Green Reef received a grant from the Oak
Foundation (through Reef Check) to train 40 people, including marine
protected area staff and the organizations that co-manage Belize's marine
reserves. The trainees attended a short session on the protocol and
reference materials, before diving with the team to observe how the
surveys work firsthand. These people can now use the information they
learned through the training to monitor their own reef over the following
years. The reserves visited were: Turneffe Islands, Lighthouse Reef,
South Water Caye, Gladden Split Marine Reserve, Glover's Reef, Port
Honduras Marine Reserve, and the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. Caye
Caulker Marine Reserve, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and Bacalar Chico Marine
Reserve will receive training later this month.
The other task for the Reef Check team was to complete
20 surveys, 10 inside protected areas and 10 outside of protected areas,
in order to establish a baseline for Belize. Team members, Mario Graniel,
Mito Paz, Laurie Smith, and Kristen Stelljes, conducted the surveys and
kept very busy doing four dives a day to accomplish their task. The
surveys were not all work however, as the beautiful reefs of Belize
showed off their beauty and diversity during all of the
dives.
Green Reef is very grateful to the marine
reserves that participated in the training and the team members who did
the surveys. We also would like to thank Clive Forman and the
Offshore Express for providing Green
Reef with a very smooth and comfortable trip, Pancho Gutierrez for being
our excellent boatman and assisting with all of the dives, Victor Santoya
for keeping everyone well fed, and Denton
Haylock
for all of his assistance. We are
also grateful to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Amigos del Mar Dive Shop for
their support.
Keep reading Reef Brief
to find out the results of the surveys when the data has
finally been analyzed!
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