Fish Life in Roatan?

[SEVADiver]

We made our first trip to Roatan in April. We stayed at AKR (we loved it there) and dove mainly north side. I thought the fish life was great. Maybe a notch less than Little Cayman or Grand Turk, but definitely on par with most of the other places in the Caribbean. I saw more unique things in Roatan (several large sea horses, toad fish, scorpion fish) then I had in other places. Also lots of turtles, crabs, lobster, groupers, eels and large schools of small/medium reef fish. Definitely on our short list of places to return to.

 

[Dive n00b]

Late to the party, but I was in Roatan for the first time last month. After reading a lot of the posts here, I almost expected to be disappointed with the marine life.

Truth is, I was absolutely blown away. Never in my life have I seen that many fish and/or coral that lush.

I must admit that I am not the most seasoned diver in the world, but compared to the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic, diving in Roatan was like jumping into a fully stocked aquarium.

Now I'm sure with the increased tourism to Roatan in recent years its not like it used to be, but if this is your first Roatan experience, I highly doubt that you'll be disappointed.

Just my two cents!

Happy Diving!

 

[BDSC]

Well we are now booked at the Reef House Resort for September and really looking forward to it. The reviews of the place are really really good and it will be nice to return to Roatan and see how things are for myself. It's been a few years.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

We've been to AKR four times now. We love the diving but if you talk to any local they'll tell you what is obvious and that is the island is way over fished. The people are poor there mostly. Fishing is what they do. There are lobster fisherman (divers)who suffer from DCS on a regular basis.

You'll see lots of little things and an occasional decent sized school of fish but it's a shadow of what it was.

 

[CODMAN]

You'll see lots of little things and an occasional decent sized school of fish but it's a shadow of what it was.

That's pretty much the case with all reefs/ fish populations under pressure from Human activities...

But people have to remember that it depends what you are looking for. If Fish for you mean big schools of pelagics and sharks... then Roatan has dismal fish populations... For someone looking for small fish and invertebrates, it's pretty good (maybe even great)! Remember: healthy reefs don't always mean lots of big pelagic fish!

You don't travel to dive Lembeh straights in Indonesia (arguably the muck diving capital of the world) expecting to see schooling Tuna! You need to know what to expect when you choose a destination. And that's what Scubaboard really excels at; giving tons of information from divers about equipment and destinations. Anybody reading up a bit on this forum will get what is in my oppinion a very thorough and realistic insight into what to expect as marine life on Roatan. If you read through it, and still expect sharks, tuna and manta rays...

Just my 0.02$ on this...

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Codman I knew what to expect when I went there and I know what it was like there just a few years ago. The government of Honduras is doing their best to bring the seriously depleted fish population back. Which of course means curtailing the activities of the population.

Diving there is still fun and if you avoid the stormy season it can be excellent. We don 't go there in the summer and fall as that is hurricane season and you might find yourself doing things other than diving although it's certainly cheap then.

14 Hurricanes predicted for this season in the Atlantic.

 

[BDSC]

Actually, one of the good things about Roatan is they don't get many hurricanes at all so in general, the summer and fall is a great time because it is so cheap. I think they have had one major hurricane in the past 10 years or so.

 

[Doc]

We've been to AKR four times now.... I knew what to expect when I went there and I know what it was like there just a few years ago..

AKR is on the North/West. Try the South side for a totally different perspective on life....

 

[cap10]

Actually, one of the good things about Roatan is they don't get many hurricanes at all so in general, the summer and fall is a great time because it is so cheap. I think they have had one major hurricane in the past 10 years or so.

Hurricane Mitch 1998 Major damage and lots many deaths

Hurricane Wilma 2005

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Wilma torn up some buildings at AKR.

Dove the south side too, great diving. We plan to go back on the starving instructor plan.