Home 2-week expeditions Honduras - coral reef

Diving in a Caribbean paradise: safeguarding the coral reefs of Cayos Cochinos, Honduras. Price/dates/status These SCUBA diving conservation volunteer holidays will take you to the Bay Island archipelago in the Caribbean to survey part of the world's second largest coral reef system. You will be trained in internationally acclaimed coral reef survey techniques and then assist in a reef survey programme alongside the rest of your international team by diving along coral reefs and recording key indicator fish and invertebrates. All this as part of a global effort to assess coral reef health and assist with the formulation of effective conservation strategies. Please note that you need to be a fully qualified diver to take part in this expedition (minimum PADI Open Water or equivalent). PRICE = Expedition contribution (land only per slot) £1260 (ca. €1590 | US$2490 | AU$2590). Please note: expedition contributions are quoted in British pound sterling and the approximate Euro and US Dollar equivalent. Try the XE currency converter for other currencies and an up to date Euro and US Dollar exchange rate. Where does my money go and other money questions. Dates 2009: 1 - 13 March | 15 - 27 March (12 nights). Team members can join for multiple slots (within the periods specified). How long can I join for? Status Amber: Expeditions of status amber have few spaces available (or are currently in the field). To join them you need to decide soon, so please get in touch to talk about availability. Terrain Caribbean island coral cays. Weather expected during expedition Hot tropical maritime with an average of 10 hours sunshine every day. Expedition base You will stay in a well-equipped scientific station on a small coral cay island accessible only for research personnel, where two to four of you will share a very comfortable, spacious wooden bungalow cabin on the beach with a lounge, toilet and shower. Team size Up to 12 team members + 2 local scientists/divemasters + 1 expedition leader/divemaster. Skills & prerequisites required You don't need to be a scientist, but you do need to be a qualified diver (minimum PADI Open Water or equivalent).  Can laypeople really be of help to serious research & conservation projects? Fitness level required As a qualified PADI Open Water Diver, you will already have a reasonable level of fitness. Will it be for me or am I too old/young/unfit? Team assembly point La Ceiba, one of the main cities in Honduras. What about carbon neutrality and other environmental and social impact? Who books my flights? And finally Our expeditions are not about playing the primitive, neither are we a military style 'boot-camp'. Our expedition leader and the local scientist will be by your side and we believe strongly that we get the best out of our expedition teams by making them comfortable, safe and well fed. You won’t be living in the lap of luxury, but we will do our best to make you feel comfortable and at home in your working environment, as this is the key to a well-balanced and successful expedition. Details These SCUBA diving conservation volunteer holidays will take you to the world’s second largest reef system in the middle of the Cayos Cochinos Natural Monument in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Honduras. The purpose of the survey programme is to provide data on the current biological status of the reefs and of population levels of protected species within the marine protected area. All this as part of an international coral reef monitoring programme, called Reef Check, and to help make informed management and conservation decisions within the Marine Protected Area (MPA). Aims & objectives (1) To conduct a survey of the Cayos Cochinos reefs so that results can be compared to other parts of the Meso-American barrier reef system and worldwide in terms of the abundance and diversity of corals, algae, invertebrates and fish. (2) To monitor the health of the reef and its fish and invertebrates so that informed management and conservation decisions can be made by the government and NGOs. Background The Cayos Cochinos are a group of two small islands (Cochino Pequeno and Cochino Grande) and 13 small coral cays situated 30 kilometres northeast of the town of La Ceiba on the northern shores of Honduras. In November 1993, a Presidential Decree designated the Cayos Cochinos a Natural Protected Area and the Honduras Coral Reef Fund (HCRF) as the managing agency responsible for the conservation of the islands. In August 1994 a second Presidential Decree confirmed the protected status of the islands. In November 2003 a Legislative Decree declared them and the area around them a Marine Natural Monument. The protected area covers 460 km2. The Cayos Cochinos form part of the world’s second largest barrier reef system, known as the Meso-American barrier reef, and have been identified by the Smithsonian Institute, The Nature Conservancy, the Word Wildlife Fund and the World Bank as one of the key sections of the barrier reef system to preserve. The reefs are the least disturbed ecosystems in the so-called Bay Islands complex and HCRF have been working with local communities, private sector bodies and government organisations to help manage the reefs and their fisheries over the last 10 years In 2004 HCRF published a new management plan for the area, which has been discussed extensively with the various stakeholders and has now been adopted by the Honduran government. Biosphere Expeditions has been invited to help with the implementation and development of this plan. Study species A coral reef is composed of a myriad of species and it is impossible to name them all here. However, during our Reef Check surveys, we will be concentrating on a number of indicator organisms such as: Grunts (a group of fish, belonging to a taxonomic family called the Haemulidae) Groupers (Sermulidae) Snappers (Lutjanidae) Parrotfish (Scaridae) Butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae) Lobsters (Palinuridae) Sea fans / sea whips (Gorgonacea) Hard and soft corals Sea urchins Other landmark species present (some of them on the islands): Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Whale shark (Rhynchodon typus) Manta ray (Manta birostris) Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) Iguana (Iguana iguana) Expedition work You will spend the first three days on land and in the water with training. The expedition leader and the local scientist will prepare you for your fieldwork tasks and explain the research methods and goals. Talks are organised to make you familiar with safety, the equipment, the research (and your part in it) and the area in which it will happen. Open water dives are organised so that everyone can get comfortable in the water again and put into action the fish, invertebrate and other ID skills taught before the actual survey work begins. Once you are trained up, your tasks will be predominantly dive-based and consist of several distinct underwater activities with the team split into buddy pairs. Depending on what your assignment is on the day, you and your buddy will, for example, be recording fish or invertebrates along the transect, or recording what kind of substrate (hard or soft coral, sand, rock, etc.) covers the bottom along the transect. Covering a transect will take you about one hour and you will dive one transect in the morning and one in the afternoon. During the course of the expedition, you will be laying transects in different locations all over the reef. Research area Lying just a few miles off the coast from La Ceiba, Cayos Cochinos can usually be seen from the coast on a clear day. What appears to be a midsize mountain island is actually several different islands. Cayos Cochinos comprises 13 different cays, or small islands. Considered as part of the Bay Islands, the cays are the hardest to get to, despite the fact that they are the closest to the mainland.   Expedition team members will be based at the Honduras Coral Reef Foundation (HCRF) scientific station on Cochino Pequeno. Access to this island is restricted to research personnel of HCRF and its partners. You will travel by speedboat from the town of La Ceiba on the mainland and arrive at a jetty on the southern end of the island beneath a steeply rising forested mountain. The communal dining area is set high on the mountainside with (breathtaking) views of the bay and surrounding sand cays and is accessed by a series of steps. The island is covered in forest and there is an excellent walk to hidden and completely empty white sand beaches. Maps   Map of the region and study site.  Map of the Cayos Cochinos coral cays.     Google map of all Biosphere Expeditions study sites, expedition bases, assembly points, office locations, etc.   Pictures The scientific station. Jetty and wet lab in the foreground. Cabin bungalows, dry lab and lecture room, compressor shed behind the beach, and kitchen with dining room up on the hill on the right. The scientific station from the air with jetty, wet lab, cabin bungalows (square roofs in the middle and on left) and the dry lab and lecture room (oblong roof on right).   Cabin bungalow. Each cabin has a shower and toilet, a small kitchen cum lounge and a veranda overlooking the beach.  One of the small coral reef cays of the study site and close to the scientific station.  Typical day at the study site . The expedition base is on the large, green island in the midground. Sunset as seen from the scientific station beach.  Sunrise over the Cayos Cochinos. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. The reef.  Reef & green turtle. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Reef life.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.    Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.    Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of OpWall.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Reef life. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier.  Training & bookwork. Pre-dive briefing. Getting ready for a survey dive. Getting ready for a survey dive. Radioing in before the dive begins.  In we go! Flying the flag! Laying the reef transect tape. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Surveying the reef along a transect tape. Courtesy of Italo Bonilla. Surveying the reef along a transect tape. Courtesy of Italo Bonilla. Surveying the reef along a transect tape. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Diver. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Underwater data entry slate. It was that big, honest! Data entry. Data entry. Relaxing after a day's work. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. Relaxing after a day's work. Courtesy of expedition team member Eric Frazier. An expedition team.   Video Basic introduction to coral reef conservation expedition to Honduras. Recorded as part of an interview with L.A.-based "Econews". Scientific station and some of the Cayos Cochinos islands. Diving: laying an underwater transect line, diving along it and recording indicator organisms. Watch more Honduras expedition clips on YouTube.   Audio Tauchen in Honduras in German     Press Eco-divers on the front line in English  View article 937.35 Kb Diving with a purpose in English Go to article Riffige Idee in German  View article 8.12 Mb Ich bin dann mal im Einsatz in German  View article 929.79 Kb   Im Regenwald des Meeres in German Go to article Im Dschungel des Meeres in German  View article 625.02 Kb Reef Check Honduras in German  View article 220.84 Kb Éco-volontaires au Honduras in French  View article 1.43 Mb Feedback "We are always looking for help to do as much research as we can in order to increase our knowledge of our natural resources and how to manage them sustainably. Working with Biosphere Expeditions gives us a great opportunity to do this on our coral reefs. On top of that there is intense cultural exchange leading to greater cross-cultural understanding, so there are multiple benefits for the archipelago of Cayos Cochinos." Adonis Cubas (resident scientist) & Italo Bonilla (co-ordinator of science and diving operations), Cayos Cochinos Marine Natural Monument, Honduras. “This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and it felt like a real privilege to wake up here and go out diving with the scientists.” Caroline Bruce, 34. “I want to thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm and amazing talents that you put into your projects. I thoroughly enjoyed my Cayos experience. I have nothing but the most glowing, positive comments to make about the expedition.  I hope our paths cross again, both above and below the water level.” Greg Muelrath, 55. Feedback from team members about their experiences and reasons for coming (on/from various expeditions). "The evening lectures were excellent. Well organised programme with good use of timetables, organised labs, etc. Good explanation of scientific basics. A great experience from start to finish. Thanks!" Alistair Francis, 54. "I really enjoyed the evening lectures we had - they were very interesting and very good speakers. It was great to see what our work was contributing to and what other scientist are working towards." Rachel Martin, 30. "Kathy and Italo were exceptional expedition leaders and scientists and always had concern for our needs and requests. Safety was number one priority and dive briefings were thorough." Eric Frazier, 34. "The group dynamic was excellent...our team leader was excellent - really chilled but directive where necessary and the dive master and his phenomenal knowledge of the sites enhanced all our dives." Su Mills, 29. "The site was extraordinary, the programme was excellent, the expedition leader & scientists were extremely well selected for this kind of an expedition. There was also outstanding care for safety matters." Petra Pullenhauser, 61. Briefing The expedition briefing contains very detailed information on this expedition, including instructions on how to get to the assembly point, what you will be doing whilst on expedition and who your expedition leader and scientists will be. You can access briefings via the Download Centre. Join Go on, you know you want to Sign up here.