Coral Reefs in Honduras: Status after Hurricane Mitch

Figure 2. Index map (top) showing location of Cayos Cochinos and Roatán, Honduras and path of Hurricane Mitch. Aerial photograph of Cayos Cochinos (bottom) showing location of monitoring stations (red dots) and distribution of fringing coral reefs. Click on the image for a larger version.

Four site visits were made between October 1999 and April 2001 to investigate and monitor the coral reefs around Cayos Cochinos and Roatán, Honduras (Figure 2). Cayos Cochinos Biological Reserve served as the primary study site with secondary efforts in the Roatán Marine Reserve. Cayos Cochinos is located on the continental shelf approximately 12 miles off the northern coast of Honduras and 18 mi south of Roatán in the Caribbean Sea. A deep trough (1400 ft) separates Cayos and Roatán.

Fringing coral reefs line the coasts of all the Bay Islands, providing protection from storms. This protection allows a tourism-based economy, supplemented by sustenance fishing for the indigenous people. Though the reefs of Roatán and Cayos Cochinos share many similarities, there are important differences. Historically, Roatán has been bathed in clear water (100+ ft visibility), which is a result of relatively strong oceanic currents that sweep past the island. However, during the past decade poor land-use practices and development have resulted in increased runoff and sediment deposition on the reefs (Mehrtens, C.J. and others, in press). Cayos Cochinos, on the other hand, is located on the shallow continental shelf and is persistently influenced by runoff from mainland rivers that result in salinity, temperature, turbidity and water-quality fluctuations. Land clearing and deforestation on the Honduras mainland has probably accelerated sediment loading, nutrient content, and frequency of flood events that eventually impact the marine environments around Cayos Cochinos, and to a minor extent, other Bay Islands.