Guía de productos del mar sostenibles de las Islas de la Bahía

Siempre que visites un lugar nuevo (o incluso en tu propia ciudad), es importante que tengas en cuenta el consumo responsable a la hora de elegir dónde comer. La sobrepesca ha agotado muchas de las aguas de todo el mundo, y se han establecido recomendaciones sobre el consumo responsable de productos del mar en todo el mundo para ayudar a combatir, o al menos frenar, la destrucción de nuestro ecosistema marino.

Las Islas de la Bahía han elaborado una guía visual muy útil para identificar qué pescados son la mejor opción y cuáles conviene evitar. ¡Echemos un vistazo antes de sentarnos a la mesa! 

De la lista «Las mejores opciones», los pescados que nos gusta comer y que solemos encontrar, y que se pescan de forma responsable aquí en Roatán, son: 

• Atún

• Pez león

• Wahoo

• Mahi Mahi

Cuando salgas a comer fuera aquí en Roatán, busca esta guía visual, que se exhibe con orgullo en muchos restaurantes locales. El atún es un buen ejemplo de un pescado muy popular y abundante aquí, pero que, lamentablemente, en otras partes del mundo suele ser objeto de sobrepesca. Ten en cuenta que un pescado que puede ser una opción responsable en algunas zonas puede que NO lo sea en otras. Realmente puede variar mucho. 

Recomendamos a nuestros huéspedes que eviten los siguientes productos, que suelen ser objeto de caza furtiva, se capturan de forma ilegal, son objeto de sobrepesca o se capturan sin cumplir las restricciones pertinentes.

• Caracola

• Langosta (solo en temporada, de julio a febrero)

• Pargo

• Mero 

A continuación encontrarás una guía detallada con más información y descubrirás cómo puedes colaborar. ¡Sin demanda de las especies de pescado en peligro, no habrá oferta! Por favor, piensa en cómo puedes ayudar a proteger las poblaciones locales de peces de Roatán compartiendo esta información con otras personas y eligiendo productos del mar de forma responsable cuando salgas a comer fuera. 

Come más pez león

No hemos podido resistirnos a animar a los amantes del marisco a que le den una oportunidad a este sabroso pescado. El filete no es muy graso ni tiene un sabor muy fuerte a pescado, por lo que ofrecemuchas posibilidades a la hora de prepararlo yde disfrutar de sus sabores.

¿Te interesa pescar el pez león para poder disfrutar de esta especie invasora directamente en tu mesa? Descubre cómo puedes obtener una licencia de pesca submarina del pez león de las Islas de la Bahía a través del Programa de Control del Pez León Invasor del Parque Marino de Roatán.

5 Really Good Reasons To Protect Sharks

We love sharks. Sharks are amazing. And despite the irrational fear that people have of sharks (damn you, Jaws!), sharks would honestly rather do their own thing and are actually afraid of people. I've been on many dives where a shark comes gliding along, minding its own business, then sees me and goes "nope, nope" and jets off in the other direction.

But even if sharks weren't wary of us and even if they weren't misunderstood, who are we to cull them? Who are we to go on a massacre when there's a shark attack somewhere? Aren't we in their territory? Aren't we imposing on them? As scuba divers, snorkelers, surfers and spearfishermen, we make the active choice to enter their territory and therefore (should) accept the consequences of what happens to us.

So without further ado, here are 5 really good reasons why we should protect sharks.

Reason 1. Sharks help maintain the reef

Sharks are an incredibly important part of the ecosystem. They keep the reef eating fish populations in check, which prevent the reef eating fish from overeating the reef. If the sharks go, then the fish populations will run rampant and the reef will get eaten away pretty quickly. The reef actually produces a huge amount of the oxygen in the air that we breathe, so without the reef, on-land populations will die as well. Grim.

Reason 2. Sharks are worth more alive than dead

Studies have shown that the worth of a shark is far more when its alive than when it's dead. While the numbers vary for each location, on average, you get roughly $100 for a dead shark (they normally just take the fins), while a living shark will bring in over 1.5 million dollars over the average lifetime. Sharks are not only good for the reef, they're good for tourism. They're good for local communities. This theory doesn't just apply to sharks, it also applies to pretty much every other animal, both on land and under the sea, like elephants, rhinos, gorillas, whales, turtles, lions...the list goes on.

Reason 3. Shark finning is incredibly cruel

Imagine you're walking down the street, minding your own business, when someone drags you onto a dinghy, cuts your limbs off and leaves you face down in shallow water, shallow enough that you can sort of lift your head out of the water so you don't drown immediately, but still enough water that you will eventually bleed out and drown at the same time. That is the closest thing I can relate to a shark's experience when it gets finned.

With the exception of nurse sharks, all sharks need to be constantly moving forward so that they can push water through their gills and breathe. When sharks are finned, their bodies are pulled up onto the boat, their fins are hacked off and then their bodies are thrown back into the water to leave more space on the boat. The sharks then slowly drown. All of this cruelty for a substance that has no flavor and no nutritional value. Shark fin is cruel and useless.

Reason 4. They're more afraid of you than you are of them

There were 12 fatal shark attacks in 2015. Do you want to know how many sharks we killed that year? Over 100 million. One hundred million sharks. 100,000,000. Versus 12 humans. Are you getting it? And every time there is a shark attack somewhere, we go on a rampage and kill every shark in the area. Why?

Sharks are misunderstood. They genuinely want nothing to do with us. The reason that shark attacks are increasing is because humans have taken a large part of their food supply because of our unsustainable fishing techniques and consumption, and so sharks are now moving closer to land to find food. We are the reason that they are moving closer to shore, and then we get upset when we see them close to shore. Does that make any sense at all?

Reason 5. Sharks are just amazing

Sharks are exquisite animals. They are the best. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution to create the perfect marine predator, moving effortless through the water. Honestly, watching sharks cruise through the current is an incredibly life affirming event. Sharks are extraordinary, and deserve to be seen as such.

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So there you have it, 5 really good reasons why we should protect sharks. I apologize for getting a little heated on this one, but shark conservation is one of the topics I'm most passionate about when it comes to the marine conservation realm. Save our sharks!