Coral Reefs in Honduras
The coral reefs of Honduras--south of Mexico and Guatemala, north of Nicaragua--are part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS) that was so heavily damaged by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. A 2006 survey by the UN's International Coral Reef Initiative showed that live coral accounted for only 14.4 percent of the coral reef mass in Honduras. Live coral cover on some individual reefs in the region had declined by 50 percent.
The Barrier Reef of the Bay Islands
Roatan, Guanaja and Utila are the three inhabited islands in the Bay Islands, the coral barrier islands that make up the southern part of the MBRS in Honduras. These barrier islands stabilize the Honduras coast line, providing sheltered waters that serve as a nursery for marine life, including whales and a variety of fish. These islands support 131 hotels and resorts in an area of just over 100 square miles (261 sq. km).
Natural Threats to the Reefs
The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) of the United Nations says that, in the 1980s, these reefs, "experienced the first large-scale impacts, diseases became very evident and widespread throughout the Caribbean, and the first mass coral bleaching from elevated sea temperatures destroyed corals across the Caribbean." One threat, coral bleaching, results when the sea temperatures rise beyond the temperatures that the corals can withstand. Hurricanes, like Hurricane Mitch, in 1998, physically destroy the reefs.
Current Health of the Reefs
Since the 2006 studies of the condition of the reef, subsequent studies in 2007 and 2008 have shown that the state of the reef is improving. Total live coral cover in some areas had increased from 11 percent to 13 percent, although, "total fish biomass had declined (average 49.8 g per m2); coral and fish abundances are below the Caribbean average." This means that, following the destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch, the coral has recovered quickly, but the population of reef fish--the permanent residents of the reef--which was decimated by the hurricane, has diminished. Hurricane Iris, in 2001, caused an increase in river run-off and sedimentation, which had an additional adverse effect on the health of the reefs.
- Clew Bay image by Tara Hughes from Fotolia.com