MAR News

by: Coral Reef Alliance team (Julio San Martín, Antonella Rivera, Tanya Amaya and Allie Coleman)

Through an innovative collaboration, the project led by the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), engaged local fishers’ associations and key stakeholders, including NGOs such as the Foundation for the Protection of Lancetilla, Punta Sal, and Texiguat (PROLANSATE), Omoa Conservation Corps (CCO), and government agencies such as the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DIGEPESCA), the National Institute of Forest Conservation and Development, Protected Areas, and Wildlife (ICF), the Municipal Environmental Unit of Puerto Cortés, and the Municipal Environmental Unit of Omoa. Implemented in the Honduran communities of Puerto Cortés and Omoa, where dependence on the Cayman Crown reef is highest, the project focused on capacity building and livelihood diversification for fishers. A total of 71 fishers directly benefited, gaining the skills and resources to explore and implement livelihood diversification projects.

During the first stage of the project, a review was conducted of the legal and situational status of 11 fishers’ associations, three of which belong to Garifuna communities. This analysis served as the basis for establishing livelihood diversification projects in the area.

The project played a pivotal role in strengthening the administrative systems of fishers’ associations, providing legal guidance and delivering training for sustainable ecotourism ventures. Over the course of the project, 15 workshops were conducted:

• Six workshops utilizing CORAL’s adapted “Train the Trainers” model to promote sustainable practices,
• Six capacity-building workshops to enhance leadership and business management skills, and
• Three workshops on first aid at sea to ensure fishers’ associations were equipped with essential safety knowledge for their livelihood diversification activities.

In addition to these workshops, seven meetings were held with the three associations selected to implement the project to socialize the initiative, establish the commitment of each association, and gather information to legalize two of the fishing associations. These meetings were conducted with the support and guidance of the CCO and the DIGEPESCA regional office of Cortés.

From September 2023 to September 2024, the project’s timeline was marked by training sessions and stakeholder engagement workshops, culminating in the provision of equipment and resources to the three selected fishers’ associations. Additionally, two associations successfully submitted their legalization paperwork, further enabling them to pursue long-term sustainability. In the final stage of the initiative, the three associations received equipment to implement sustainable tourism, as well as office equipment to strengthen project administration. Posters on Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Fishing, and information on the Marine Coastal Protected Areas in the region were also designed and delivered; these posters were translated into the Garifuna language.

This initiative aimed to offer livelihood diversification options for fishing communities, reducing overfishing pressure on the reef while promoting economic resilience through sustainable ecotourism. The grant was instrumental in providing legal support, training fishers in sustainable business practices, and equipping them with the tools necessary to explore tourism as a viable and sustainable income source.

Through this project, we have laid a strong foundation for the long-term conservation of the Cayman Crown reef while empowering local communities with the knowledge, tools, and opportunities they need to thrive economically in a sustainable manner.

This project was implemented under the MAR Fish initiative, and supported by The Summit Foundation (TSF) and French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM).

Photos: Julio San Martin/Coral Reef Alliance.