Sustainable Seafood Guide for Bay Islands

[rob@diveinutila.com]

Hi all,
are you heading to or living in the Bay Islands? Then please take a look at the newly published Coral Reef Alliance "Responsible Sea Food Guide" for the Bay Islands.

Download the PDF here:
http://www.coral.org/files/pdf/Bay-Islands-Seafood-Guide.pdf

and a little more background to sea food guides plus download links:
New Guides Promote Sustainable Seafood Choices | Coral Reef Alliance

There is also one for Cozumel:
http://www.coral.org/files/pdf/Cozumel-Seafood-Guide.pdf

I personally add special consideration for the following:

lobster season (closed season from March to June inclusive) so please avoid purchasing lobster during these months.

conch is under indefinite restriction and may only be sold by restaurants that have
bought from legally registered processing companies - which is basically impossible to determine so just don't buy it!

and it is illegal to take any species of shark in Honduras.

and see the guide for all the others we should avoid purchasing.

Honduras doesn't have the financial resources to effectively patrol or enforce much of it's environmental legislation so doing our bit by supporting The Responsible Sea Food Guide is more important than ever.

Of course, you can support the this at home as well as in the Bay Islands, Cozumel, etc.

A big thank you to Coral Reef Alliance, UCME, Roatan Marine Park and everyone else involved the production of this.

rob

 

[laurenceh]

good luck trying to get this info to sink in, i've tried discouraging eating lobster out of season on this forum and tripadvisor and was frankly shocked at the attitude i got, i thought divers would be concerned but apparently many are not. "all you can eat lobster" deals seemed to be all they cared about.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Thank you for posting this info. I hope that others will begin to question their food choices and make more responsible choices. Although most people think that if they don't eat something then somebody else will so why not. Many see the worlds oceans as open for plundering and a free for all grab as much as you can while there is something left.



Go USA!...................To the all you can eat Buffet!

 

[Shawnda]

Rob, I hope you don't mind, but I thought this was important, so I copied and posted it on Trip Advisor. Thanks so much for taking the time to post it here.

 

[CajunDiva]

good luck trying to get this info to sink in, i've tried discouraging eating lobster out of season on this forum and tripadvisor and was frankly shocked at the attitude i got, i thought divers would be concerned but apparently many are not. "all you can eat lobster" deals seemed to be all they cared about.

Don't give up buddy It may take a while, but our efforts really do make a difference

We just returned from Roatan and I was very happy to see that the all-you-can-eat lobster and steak special at Hole in the Wall had been shifted to the all-you-can-eat shrimp and steak special because lobster was out of season. See...some pay attention! Keep up the good work :kiss2:

 

[Krazytomdiver]

As a dive guide,I discourage eating any sealife. I always said for every creature pulled from in sea leaves a big hole that will never be filled. Look, don't eat . I know 'Bob' at The Hole-in-the-Wall and he has always been keen to the conservation around Jonesville. Well except for the potato juice & Flora-de-Cana ! Stay with the all-you-can-eat chicken, beans & rice....

"living life without a hard bottom"
KT

 

[Thiad]

Thank you. Will be there in June and will be steering clear of the lobsters!

 

[CajunDiva]

Thiad...you don't have to steer clear - you'll see plenty of them while you're diving

 

[Thiad]

Great point and exactly where I would prefer to see them rather than on a plate!

 

[Doc]

Some Roatan operations actually import Lobster and otherwise locally available products from the US. Not many, but some do.

This importation has proven to be cheaper and more reliable quality of a product rather than buying from the local Roatan commercial fish houses, before they export it. Sounds weird, but it's a fact.

Other Roatan sources of Lobster include the divers from small boats that make ongoing sawtooth dive profiles, sometimes known as Moskito Divers. Certainly, buying out of season product from "Moskito Divers" has it's financial lure for some chefs. Remember- if it's harvested locally, the chef is very likely buying it from local "Moskitio Divers" who are picking it off the reef... The one that they are hoping you come to enjoy.

The Shrimp harvest is stunningly devastating to reef structures, no matter what the season. This is not a local Roatan impact, but if you're going to hug a tree, why not hug all of them?

Eat chicken.