Almost every hotel, vacation rental, resort, and other lodging is close enough to walk to beaches, and Roatan’s many excellent dive operators assure convenient access. Our dive masters are ready to take you to the most beautiful diving sites in Roatan, Honduras. Mean while enjoy the video recorded by Jacques Lalonde, also check our diving packages and PADI diving courses available in Roatan.

The post Marine Life and Reef in Roatan island appeared first on Roatan Five Stars Tours.

Background

In 1989, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) established the Project AWARE Foundation. By 2008, it had become one of the largest (by geographical coverage) of several ‘industry led’ environmental organizations, with administration offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and Japan. In 1992, Project AWARE Foundation became a registered nonprofit organization with an environmental mission and purpose. Project AWARE relaunched as a movement in 2011 to help divers in more than 180 countries to work together for a clean, healthy and abundant ocean.

Activities

Over the years, Project AWARE, according to its annual reports, has “mobilized” volunteer efforts, such as beach and reef cleaning, coral reef monitoring, shark rallies, and grassroot activism, and marine debris data collection. Project AWARE provides tools and resources to engage the general public, and scuba divers in particular, in activities such as letter writing campaigns, petitions and photo campaigns to pressure governments for greater action on preservation and conservation efforts.

In 2008, Project Aware began working with Reef Check, sharing data about coral reef health.In 2011, the organization relaunched and announced a new focus on the removal of marine debris, encouraging volunteer divers from around the world to actively remove trash from waterways. Project AWARE volunteers collects data through Dive Against Debris, a global citizen science program aimed at encouraging divers to report on locations, types and quantities of litter that they see and remove underwater.

Project AWARE’s current focus is supporting its movement by providing educational tools and resources that inspire action for ocean protection. These activities include building and engaging a dedicated community of dive leaders and ocean advocates via platforms such as Facebook and My Ocean, Project AWARE’s online eco-network, building and maintaining the first global interactive map on marine debris found on the seabed, providing promotional materials to volunteer organizers of local underwater marine debris surveys, promoting letter-writing campaigns, and joining environmental NGO networks in order to give collective support to member organizations’ lobbying efforts. They also work in partnership with PADI dive shops who commit financial support through the 100% AWARE partnership where dive professionals support ocean protection with each student they certify through PADI.

Official Website: www.projectaware.org
Project Aware: Youtube Channel
Roatan Five Stars: Youtube Channel

The post Project Aware – Roatan is joining the global movement appeared first on Roatan Five Stars Tours.

Years ago it was common to see people cutting down the mangroves for building or fuel purposes, filling in these areas thereafter with coral skeletons.

1. These mangroves serve a double purpose while protecting the Roatan island reefs.
a) Avoiding through their roots the flow of mud towards the reefs.
b) Avoiding an excess of sweet waters to flow to the reefs centers which would eventually destroy the species.

2. Sewerage discharged into the sea causes many problems for the reefs:
a) This provides nourishment for some fast reproducing organism such as the “marea roja” and rough water thistles, which prevents the bathers to swim comfortably. Besides producing bad odors, these black waters are also a threat as far as contagious diseases are concerned.
b) An excess quantity of these organisms may destroy the reefs. Sea stars for example, which eat the coral polyps, in great numbers are capable of destroying whole reefs in a matter of weeks.

3. Direst destruction of Roatan reefs: In virtually every house on the island, you may observe the remains of coral fans nailed to the walls or pieces of coral and shells used as decorations. Many people sell black coral which is very difficult to encounter and which capture the small lobsters with their eggs.

However, many environmental organizations have emerged, whose main objective is to raise awareness among the population about the protection of natural resources. One of these organizations called BICA (Bay Islands Conservation Association) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1991 in the Bay Islands in Honduras in order to initiate and coordinate efforts in protecting the fragile natural resources of its three islands. BICA’s operation and projects are funded through the support of local individuals, businesses and national and international agencies. BICA has two chapters – one in Roatan and one in Utila.

In Roatan Five Stars we are committed to the conservation and protection of natural resources on the island of Roatan.

Youtube Channel: Roatan Five Stars
Official Website: BICA

The post Keeping Roatan Island Beautiful appeared first on Roatan Five Stars Tours.

The experience begins with a theoretical lesson, after our staff will provide the diving equipment for the familiarization process, and finally, our certified instructors will take you to the turquoise clear waters, to discover the abundance of marine life in Roatan, Honduras a top destination for diving activities.

Our captains and diving instructors are native islanders, who know perfectly the best dive sites on the island of Roatan. Both in the south and in the north of the island, in addition to having maps with the most popular places for diving. In this exotic reef you will have the opportunity to view a variety of colorful corals, sea horses, sea fans, barracudas, sea stars, sponges, and other species that will make you return soon for another diving experience.

You will experience Roatan island crystal clear and warm waters, great visibility (30 – 40m), weak currents make the perfect conditions for any diver, great white sand beaches and the best, our people.

One of our goal is to provide the best professional dive training, experience and education in order to develop and prepare you as a PRO Diver. Our team is ready to help you understand all the process and provide great information of the island. We are providing the following PADI courses in Roatan: Padi Discover Scuba Diving (DSD), Padi Open Water, Padi Advanced Open Water courses.

Diving Trips: Bay Islands Best Diving Sites
Diving Courses: Roatan PADI Courses

The post PADI Scuba Diving Courses in Roatan Honduras appeared first on Roatan Five Stars Tours.

 Touching the live corals, because they can be damaged.
 Extracting coral reef which is prohibited and banned.
 Not anchoring vessels on the rocks or corals in the sea; only buoys in the sand and mud mire at the bottom of the sea are allowed.
 Harpooning which is ilegal.
 Throwing residue or garbage in the sea, especially those products that cannot be degraded biologically.
 Buying plants or animals which are banned.
 Limiting the use of plastics, or similar products because they are not degradable.
 Discarding garbage in an adequate way and to recycle it if possible.
 Disturbing wild fauna by reckless hunting.
 Destroying our forests and their wildlife (flora and fauna).
 Destroying our sea faun and flora. Let us all unite in order to protect them.

Others Suggestions

 Don’t hunt or fish in areas where it prohibited.
 Don’t leave garbage on the beach or cays after picnics, take it away and destroyed it.
 Don’t light or build fires on public and private areas without a permit.
 Don’t take coral from the barrier reef, or archeological stones or artifacts, it is prohibited by the Honduran government.
 Don’t hunt with guns where people circulate.
For any information or consulting matter on the invirornment, reserves zones, tourist developments and others, please contact BICA and Instituto Hondureño de Turismo.

The preservation of the world’s environmental ecosystem is the biological hope of the human race, that is why we should unite together in a difficult and delicate mission to help to preserve, and to control our precious atmosphere which will be a very healthy inheret that we can provide to our future condescendences.

To conserve our barrier reef we should follow these indications, because:

 The coral reef protects our coastline from erosion and high seas.
 The coral reef, if well preserved, attract the tourists curiosity.
 The underwater beauty of our island is a legacy to preserve.
 For coral to grow, it is a slow process, the coral reef is a very important but fragile element of our environment.

How to protect our coral Reef?

 Abstain from dumping garbage into the sea.
 Avoid spear gun fishing on the reef.
 Avoid the use of coral rock on constructions, and don’t damage it when you dive or anchor, use buoys for these purposes.
 Preserve the mangrove area, because they protects the reef filtering the water, helping the preservation of eggs and small fish, and to maintain the feeding zones.
 Preserve the woods to avoid muddy rain water running from damaging our barrier reef.

The post Preservation of Roatan Barrier Reef and Resources appeared first on Roatan Five Stars Tours.