Picture Credit

Youssef said I had to tell you that the pictures on this blog have been taken by me or the friends I dive with. He said they were so good someone was going to think I took them off the Internet.

Diving the Transect looking for Queen Conch in Port Honduras Marine Reserve, Punta Gorda, Belize, Central America

Earthwatch Belize

Hi, I'm Edie Walker and I returned from an incredible Earthwatch trip to Southern Belize. Earthwatch is an organization that supports research efforts around the world. This trip was generously sponsored by the Ahmanson Foundation.

My trip took place in the Toledo district of Southern Belize. We worked out of the Earthwatch office in Punta Gorda. Our research was conducted in the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, located between Punta Gorda and the Monkey River.

Punta Gorda, known locally as PG is the southern most town of any size in Belize and the capital of the Toledo district. The residents are very proud of the fact that the many different cultures living there, exist in harmony.

Port Honduras Marine Reserve was created in January 2000, with an area of 160 square miles/414.4 square kilometers. There are five major rivers that empty into the Reserve, the Rio Grande, Deep River, Middle River, Golden Stream and the Monkey River. PHMR was created because the local people had a need for a sustainable fishing source. This marine reserve was created by the local people to fill a local need.

About 15 years ago illegal fishermen introduced the gill net to the Port Honduras area from Guatemala. Gill nets catch every thing, so it was a big hit with all of the illegal fisherman. They were able to take many more fish on any given night. Local illegal fishermen were doing great for about three years. Then the fish take was drastically reduced. After all a gill net catches everything in its path. It is not selective. Where had all the lobsters, Queen Conch and other fish gone? The local people were determined to find out what happened, and what could be done about it. One man led the effort to organize the local residents. The results of his efforts and the residents of the area was the formation of the Toledo Institute of Development and the Environment or TIDE. The adverse effects of the gill net were very apparent. After the TIDE organization was started and the Marine Reserve established they were able to offer a buy back of the gill nets to all fishermen. This buy back, along with the banning of the long line has enabled the Reserve to recover enough to once again supply legal fishermen with a sufficient catch. I was very impressed with this information. Here is a little country, the size of New Hampshire, and they didn't wait for someone to tell them they needed to "do something", but instead, took matters into their own hands and turned their situation around. I try to be a conservationist, but I admit I have never sacrificed to the extent this people have. Nor have I never changed my life style drastically to reverse an environmental disaster. To understand how much the decision to change their situation cost these people humbles me.

When TIDE was organized they established two Ranger stations in the PHMR, one at the mouth of the Rio Grande River and one in the center of the reserve at Abalone Cay. This ranger station was designed and built by Dennis, the current office manager of Earthwatch Belize, when he was a ranger. All of the material was taken out to Abalone Cay on large outrigger boats. The rangers constructed the actual tower. A local person donated abalone Cay, because it afforded the best view in all directions of PHMR.

Earthwatch Belize has teamed with TIDE and other organizations consisting of the major stakeholders to prioritize research needs. The results of this collaboration are the Earthwatch
research teams that have on-going projects in Southern Belize. The project I participated is surveying the age, size and quantity of the Queen Conch, in the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. The queen conch is one of the mainstays of the local fisherman's livelihood.

Our research on the Queen Conch consisted of diving a transect and counting the number of Queen Conchs found and measuring the size of any queen conch we found. Juan, the director of TIDE worked with me and swam with the tape and a compass for 50 yards. We would then hold on to a 2.5 meter piece of PVC pipe and swim the length of the tape. When we found a conch (I actually found a couple) we would put the pipe down and measure the length of the conch and calibrate the thickness of the lip. This research, when done in a new area gives a base line count for the conch. Subsequent research will tell how well they are doing.

Our research efforts were hampered by the weather. The wind would not cooperate and be quiet. Because of the windy conditions we were not able to get in the water as much as was planned, but we were able to take a day to visit the area Mayan ruins. Dennis was our guide and he had a cake to deliver to one of the past fellowship participants. He was getting married that day and someone had baked it for the happy couple and asked Dennis to deliver it. When we found the wedding, we were invited to visit. What a colorful occasion. All of the little girls in their bright colored dresses were a delight to see. I ate the traditional chicken soup, though I can't remember what it was called and couldn't pronounce it correctly if I did remember. The rich history and culture of Belize makes me want to come back to visit, that and the second largest barrier reef in the world.

Being a part of Earthwatch Belize offered me a unique opportunity to be a part of a locally driven conservation research program that is making a difference in people's lives. This difference is noticeable all around the area, especially when someone points out what to look for.
As in any other Earthwatch experience, I was a was able to be a part of a field research team that showed me the meaning of true scientific research. Can I now claim to be a scientist?

Probably the most important thing I learned while on this trip was the total dedication of the people from Earthwatch, TIDE and the rangers from the Public Lands Sanctuary. They are so involved with the idea of conservation and what it means to them and their countrymen that it makes me think that we need to follow their example and consider what our impact on Planet Earth is. The staff of both TIDE and Earthwatch Belize has earned my admiration and I thank them for the lessons they taught me. A special thanks goes to our Divemaster " Yogi" for the special care afforded me while we were diving.

As a teacher I will take this experience into the classroom and hopefully will be able to convey to my students the amazing world and people beyond our backyard. I am the type of person who will tell of my experience and respect for these people every chance I get. Last week I attended a weeklong science conference in Ojai, CA. I'm sure the other participants know exactly how I feel about my experience. I am very vocal when I am convinced about something. I am convinced that Earthwatch in general and Earthwatch Belize deserves out admiration and support.


Edie Walker



Ranger Station, Abalone Cay, PHMR, Belize

End Maui 2007

Tuesday, 8-21-07
Bob and I went across the street to snorkel and I had forgotten how great it can be. The ocean was like glass and crystal clear. Saw lots of stuff and even saw one small turtle, which makes it 100% turtle sightings. Every time I was in the water I saw at least one turtle. When I started coming to Maui, every turtle sighting was a special event, and now we see them all the time. It's wonderful to know they are doing well someplace.
Aloha till next time.

Connie's Last Snorkle

What a great end for Connie's vacation! We got up early and went snorkeling at Chang's Beach. What a great choice. Lots of turtles. Six big ones in the same place. Talk about swimming with the turtles, we sure did it today. A sad note though is the large turtle in the picture. He has a large fish hook in his neck. If you look close you can see the bottom of it below his neck. It sure makes you wish there was something you could do to get rid of it for him. We are now down to just Bob and me. Sure seems different than when we had a house full. Aloha

Last Dive

I had to share this great picture from our last dive with you. Ron took the picture. Connie and I finished the dive vacation with a tribute to Tim. Tim is the young man who got certified with me and after the first dive he, Connie and I did together we went out and ate greasy bar food. The food was great and the beer cold. Here's to you Tim.

Sylvia's Gone

Well Sylvia left tonight and we are down to three. Bob, Connie and me. But, Sylvia's vacation ended with a bang. We dove with Ron Ross this morning at Wailea, and what a dive it was. We now know that swimming over sand is not always a bad thing. We saw some neat stuff in the sand today. Sylvia was in heaven. She kept asking Ron questions about all kinds of little critters. And that is difficult under water. But trust Syl to figure a way to get it done. My claim to fame today is for the first time I had 90 min. of bottom time and still had 500 lbs of air. After we finished diving we went for a 90 min snorkel at Ahihi Cove. We dove this cove earlier in the week, but I forget how neat it is. So much coral and so many different reef fish. Makes this old gal a happy camper.

Tropical Storm

Bummer, the tropical storm is about to hit the Big Island and it messed up the beaches and the water on Maui. We tried to snorkel this morning, but the visability was terrible. So I declared "this is no fun" and Jan replied, "I'm gone". So since we couldn't snorkel, we shopped till I dropped.

Week Two

It's been a busy week. We went diving with Ron Ross a couple of times. First time we went to Ahihi Cove and found a wonderful turtle cleaning station. But the best was 5 Caves. One of them has a bubble that you can take off your regulator and talk to each other underwater. Very cool. On this dive we saw four spotted eagle rays.
Yesterday we dove and it was dive number 70 for me. Pretty soon I won't be able to say I'm a novice. they might expect me to know something. Oh NO!
The crew here is going to start thinning out. Jan, Debbie and Doug leave tomorrow.
The ocean is calling. Aloha

Boat Dive

Up at the crack of dawn to go boat diving. It was a three tank dive, and it turned out to be, 1 great, 1 good, and 1 boring. The great dive was Reef's End. It is a drift dive and the current was strong. There was no time for pictures when you went by, you were flying. We saw a lot of stuff though. The second dive was on an amphibious landing craft (an older version of a Hummmer) The carrier and two small corals were all there was to the site. The rest was sand. Though we saw some good stuff, the extensive sand was boring. We kept wanting more fish to look at. The third dive was good. Lots of nice coral, reef fish, sharks, eels and colorful little things. We missed you Shannon and Ericka. You would have been icicles. Connie's lips were blue after the third dive. She was cold after the second dive and the third one finished her off. We have no pitures though, Connie's camera is giving her trouble. We have grown so used to coming home and messing with pictures, it feels weird not to .

Crown of Thorns

Aloha, We have just spent two glorious days diving. Connie, Shannon, Ericka and myself. Today we dove Old Airport. There was 100ft of visibility and the coral was awesome. We are all very proud because we were able to stay down for 85 min,for both dives. Truth is Connie and Shannon still come up with tons of air, while Ericka (a new diver) and I are happy with 85 min. The picture is of one of the three Crown of Thorns we saw. This critter is very destructive to coral. It eats it. So though they are beautiful, we hate to see them in the beautiful coral. Shannon and Ericka are leaving tomorrow, so Connie and I are going boat diving. Aloha

Can you see the Frog fish? They are a prehistoric looking critter that we saw yesterday snorkeling. As always Jan found him. It is only the second time I've seen one. That makes yesterday a very special trip. Connie got in about 3:00 and had to go by the dive shop to get the dive flag I forgot. We picked up gear so we could all go diving tomorrow. After church the four of us walked the three miles home. Connie, on the other hand walked and met us so she did about 5.5 miles. We took a long time, what with the shopping. Ericka is trying to get stuff bought so she can take it home.

Aloha, Today we went on a four mile hike to Waimoku Falls at Haleakala National Park. This hike is not a simple walk in the park. You scramble over rocks and roots and slide down muddy inclines. But your reward for all of this effort is spectacular views of water falls, the bamboo forest and finally the 450 ft Waimoku Falls. Of course it took us 2 hours to get to the falls. The girls stayed with Jan and I because they were worried that the "old" ladies needed looking after. We were slow, but we got there. As an excuse I used, 1) My shoes were slippery, 2) I stepped wrong and tweaked my leg, 3) My glasses were fogging up in the rain, 4) Ericka wanted to look at everything.

Honolua Bay Snorkeling

Great start to a great vacation. Shannon, Ericka, and I were going diving this morning, but Shannon had trouble with her breathing and we figured diving was not a good idea so we went snorkeling instead. Saw some really cool stuff. An adult Rockmover, Pearl Wrasse, huge turtle (with a huge tumor on the side of it's face) and a lot of the normal fish we see. The butterflies, angelfish, yellow and blue fish. Reminded me why I keep coming back here to Maui. Again Jan and I were the only ones who went back in after lunch. The rest of them or wimps. It was cold though. I put on my wet suit and Jan used the shorty over her skin and we still were none to warm. We left about 2:00pm and the bay was still like glass. That's one of the things I enjoy about Honolua Bay, when it's good, it's very good and when it's bad it's awful.
Aloha

Hellooo Maui

I'm here. Hooray for me! I actually had to go to the airport early because of a ride problem, but I made the most of it and played games on my computer. The sunset and clouds were amazing when we were coming in. Jan, Bob, Shannon, and Ericka met me with a hot dog and I love them for it. Ocean here I come.

Hi Martha

I know you will probably be my number one reader, I'm glad your my friend.

Back from Thacher

I left the Teach the Teachers at Thacher School in Oaji and because of the traffic stayed at Nancy's until I left to catch the bus for the Hollywood Bowl. Because I was being lazy I left late and missed the bus by a minute, so I headed home to start getting ready for Maui. I leave on Tuesday, the 31st of July.