Yachts Should Respect Roatan Marine Park Regulations

The Sandy Bay-West End Marine Park, located on the Western tip of Roatan Island in Honduras, is an NGO in charge of conservation efforts on Roatan. Recently they have reported running into conflicts involving yacht in the park, in particular, those discharging wastes and others using spear guns and collecting the local fauna.

Yachts should be aware that failure to adhere to the park rules could result in confiscation of equipment and even time in jail.

• Anchoring on the reef is absolutely prohibited and continuous disregard of this guideline will result in your vessel being impounded.
• Anchoring within Half Moon Bay and West Bay is prohibited.
• Do not touch the coral.
• Do not remove anything from the sea.
• Littering is forbidden.
• Use of spear guns and nets is prohibited.
• The maximum speed for any vehicle within the lagoon is 10kph.
• No sewage is to be released into the sea within 5 miles of any Honduran coast.
• Removal of endangered species (ie conch, lobster, Nassau grouper) is forbidden.
• Release of any toxic chemicals, including petroleum products, is forbidden.
• Cutting of mangroves is forbidden.
• Development of iron shore is forbidden.
• Dive buoys are white with a black RMP logo carved into them, fishing moorings have black fishes carved into them. It is prohibited for yachts to use these moorings.

www.roatanmarinepark.com/