The municipality is aiming to pave the West End strip starting in 3 months (the busy season).  What this will do to tourism seems not to have been accounted for.  Apparently, feedback from the community is not being entertained this time around.  In addition, all of the work and planning for drainage and sediment trapping by USAID is no longer being considered. 
This is not an opinion in anyway.  I do no represent the Marine Park on this issue.
(We have all been warned about expressing our opinions on the subject).
HELP.

The Galley has returned under new management.  And it is awesome.
Yesterday I had a Tofu shwarma and fresh salad.  Tofu on a menu in West End!!!!!!
Hooray!
Kristen, a highly skilled chef is heading up the project.  It's basically a beautiful deli with amazing coffee, smoothies, fresh salads and of course the charm that is the Galley.

Everyone that has known the community of West End in  the past will be sad to know that the Galley has closed.  Becky has closed up shop and moved on to new projects.

I'm not going to say anything to jinx myself and my plans but it looks like recycling is on its way.  All that I will say is that this effort will be directed by the Roatan Marine Park and the Cerveceria Hondurena.
I will keep everyone posted as this projects develop.

Another exciting and busy week in the Roatan Marine Park.
We are constantly hosting meetings and going to meetings with other NGOs, government agencies and project directors these days.  I think that we've had one meeting per day.  Quite a change from 6 months ago.
We busted 5 poachers on Sunday.  After raining solid for a couple of weeks, Sunday was a beautiful day to be on the water and hence the results of our patrols.
I will be going tp Guanaja next week to meet with the dive shops there on behalf of WWF, the mayor concerning the overfishing of SPAGS, and the people that are implementing a recycling program.

The Voluntary Marine Park User Fee will be increased to $10/year or an optional $3/day for those that are here for a limited time.
This decision was made by the General Assembly of the Roatan Marine Park, the governing body of the park with representatives from the community and each dive shop on the north west side,along with the few others on the south side and north east.
This price increase is a response to the general opinion of many visitors that felt that we were undercharging our guests and that our conservation efforts deserved more funds.

So the same Icelandic dude that I argued with in Tegus sent me an email with some interesting facts concerning the whale hunt.
Although not requiring harvest (a confusion in terms), the Icelanders "seem" to be working within sustainable levels.  I mean, I hate that any whales are being harpooned and dragged through the sea but check the digits:
Between 2006 and 2007 the Icelanders will be harvesting 69 out of a total of 43,600 minke whales  and 9 out of 25,800 fin whales within Icelandic waters.
In comparison, the U.S. will be harvesting 280 out of 10,000 of bowheads during the current 5 year block.
In addition, in order of number of whales harvested per year this is a list of the countries currently hunting whales (note America on top):

United States
Russia
Norway
Japan
Greenland

Check out the info at:
http://www.fisheries.is/issues/index.htm

I had some issues with some of the math on this site along with some small discrepencies.

There's the propagands folks.  Believe it or not!
Personally, I'm still against the whole thing but I'm happy to see that the Americans are once again at the top of the list for players of irresponsible behaviour.  Get a clue America!

How timely.
Calvin man, we just had a general assembly meeting on Monday at which all dive shops agreed to increase the marine park user fee to $10/year.  We have also opted to have a second option of $3/day. I'm really stoked about this development as it will allow us to increase or resources, staff and projects.  I guarantee all visitors that you will see the results here on Roatan.

No he wasn't nice. It was crackhead etiquette of threatening and pointing and yelling without the normal niceties.
Yes, there are major differences between the islands and the mainland but I think that we would find that social standards are strongly correlated to standards of living.  Honduras has an interesting situation on its hands as the great economic divide broadens between one region of the country and another.  Things are going to get even worse if the Congress accepts the proposal of creating a tax-free zone in the Bay Islands.
Personally, I don't see much social sense in this move.  It's seems like more of a tax break for the rich if you ask me; while we're on the topic of robbery. 
Anyways that's my opinion and not that of the Marine Park in anyway whatsoever.

Hey Calvin.  Been long time man.  I'm rather pissed about this as well.  Why?  Why, does Iceland need to kill these animals?  It's just not necessary.  I was starting to think that Iceland was advanced but I guess they've still got that blood-thirsty barabarism in them that they inherited from their savage ancestors.
I met an Icelander in Tegucigalpa last week and he told me that most people are rather ignorant when it comes to whales.  He told me that not all whales are the same and some species of whales are so numerous that they need to be managed.  I was so taken aback by this comment that I had to put my beer down.  I basically told him that the entire world cannot be wrong about a whale moratorium and that the only population in need of management was that of the human race and beaurocatic politicians.
It seems that this guy was filled with whale hunting propaganda which has been served to him by the earful by his government. 
I hope that Icleand has a harsh winter.  They deserve it.

PADI has awarded us with a $3,400 grant for youth education.  With this money we will be purchasing snorkelling equipment for 30 students, including mask, snorkel, fins, flotation device, fish i.d. slates, journals, marine species i.d. books and a projector.  This program will begin when the weather improves.  We are considering hiring a part-time bilingual instructor to visit 2 schools per week for in-class instruction which will be followed up by a heavily supervised field trip to the mangrove and coral reef ecosystems.
Our aim is to improve environmental knowledge in younger generations in the hopes that we may safeguard the marine environment in the future. 

Yes it's true.  While in Tegus, Lidia and I were robbed at gunpoint in a posh part of town.  Sure, I was rather naive walking around with a laptop by my side but I figured all of our hard work was worth enough good karma to keep us safe in the inner city.  Nope.
So we had our marine park laptop stolen with all of our contacts, presentations, laws, regulations etc.  I had my wallet stolen with all i.d. and $300. 
A bit of a bummer.  But we will bounce back with fresh ideas and brand new presentations.  Plus, we've got some good karma on credit now.

Last week, Lidia Salinas and I went to the capital to meet with several government agencies.  We first met with WWF on our way to Tegus via La Ceiba.  We discussed a new program being designed by WWF for a sustainable lobster industry.  It seems like a great program that promotes the survival of small juveniles, thus ensuring a healthy balanced population.  We're meeting with them again today when we will obtain more information and I will post the results.
We then met with COHDEFOR.  These people are in charge of designating protected areas and the organizations in charge of their management. The meeting went very well and it seems that we will be official co-managers of Roatan alongside Bica before the new year.
We also met with SERNA, DIBIO and DIGEPESCA.  I won't bore everyone but it's all good stuff.  We are becoming a force to reckon with and we have become well known throughout all of the government of Honduras.  In fact, we have been asked to address congress in January.

Yesterday, I went on a field trip with a local school to the mangroves of Jonesville.  We discussed the importance of the mangrove ecosystem and took a nice cruise through some mangrove tunnels.  We also had the opportunity to snorkel in Half Moon Bay of the South-east side of the island.  I spotted a stingray, 3 flying gurnards and a batfish.
On the way to Jonesville, a pod of around 40 dolphins intercepted us and rode our wake.  It was amazing!!!!!
I'll attach some photos to the pictures forum.

We have just received confirmation that our proposal for an educational program and marine infrastructure program has been accepted by CORAL and WWF.  These organizations are doing an amazing job in the conservation realm and I am not only delighted that they are giving us some much needed funds to help out Roatan but I am honoured that they have brought us into the fold.  We will be improving the existing infrastructure and installing yacht buoys, water taxi lanes and safe snorkelling areas.  The educational program will include a massive amount of literature meant for dissemination into the tourist industry, an educational video and some much needed conferences and seminars for business owners, divers, the public and schools.