Hol Chan Marine Reserve managed by Hol Chan Marine Reserve Trust Fund Committee
The Hol Chan Marine Reserve is approximately 4 miles southeast of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. This reef is in the northern section of the Belize barrier reef system which stretches for 150 miles. Depths inside the reef average 15 feet and the channel itself is about 30 feet deep. The reserve that covers about 5 sq. miles, has been divided into 3 zones, thus allowing the maximum use of the area whilst emphasizing its preservation. These zones are clearly marked by buoys.
Hol Chan Marine Reserve is managed by the Hol Chan Marine Reserve Trust Fund Committee, which replaced the informal advisory committee which ran the reserve until 1994. The majority of the funds for the park’s upkeep is generated from the fees charged to visitors for access to Zones A and D. Funding from the WWF ended in 1995. The establishment of the reserve in 1987 included four main goals. These were:
- Preserving an area of the coral reef ecosystem
- Providing recreational and tourist services while maintaining the utility of the area for fisheries
- Providing an opportunity for education and research within the park
- Conserving genetic resource
Features
Zone A mostly consists of the Hol Chan Cut, a natural break or quebrada in the reef, which includes the inside and outside of the reef (part of the Belize Barrier Reef). The cut is approximately 23 m (75 ft) wide and 9 m (30 ft) deep (Hol Chan is Mayan for “little channel”), and is rich in marine life. Around the cut the sea can be as shallow 1.5 m (5 ft). On the outside of the reef the channel slopes into the Caribbean, and on the inside of the reef tails off into the shallows. No fishing is permitted in this area, but snorkeling and diving are permitted on payment of a fee.
While fish stocks have increased, the fishing industry has continued to decline, and the management is faced with other problems: clearance of mangroves and other habitats in areas adjacent to the reserve, which affects the reserve but over which the committee has no control; increasing numbers of tourists, which although increasing revenue to the reserve through fees, puts pressure on the facilities both within the reserve and the nearby towns of San Pedro and Caye Caulker.
Zone B covers the sea grass beds inside the reef and has Boca Ciega Blue Hole, a sinkhole, which opens into a larger underwater cavern. It is dangerous for inexperienced divers, so is not regularly visited.
Zone C covers the mangroves swamps of southern Ambergris Caye. No commercial fishing is allowed in this zone, but sport fishing may be carried out under license.
Zone D, Shark Ray Alley, is a shallow sandy-bottomed area inside the reef, unremarkable except that it is a gathering place for sharks and stingrays. It was an area traditionally used by fisherman to clean their nets before returning to port, and the abundance of food that entered the water as a result attracted the sharks and rays to feed. The presence of these fish was actively encouraged as a tourist attraction — being fed by local tour guides; the shallow clear waters make it an ideal spot for snorkelers to observe the creatures.
Wildlife
Hol Chan Cut is open to the sea beyond the reef, so allows marine creatures to travel from the outside of the reef to the inside and vice versa. Over 160 species of fish have been recorded in the reserve, along with forty types of coral, five species of sponge, two sea grasses, three species of sea turtle and three marine mammals: the Short-beaked Common Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin and West Indian Manatee. Spotted eagle rays and Southern stingrays are common at the bottom of the channel. Lobsters, Moray eels and sea anemones live among the rocky outcrops and there are many corals including brain coral, with elkhorn coral, leaf coral and finger coral lining the sides of the cut. Jacks, Groupers, Snappers and Barracuda are all common. The mangrove forests act as nurseries for many fish species and adult Blue-striped grunts, French grunts, White grunts, Gray snappers, French angelfish, Gray angelfish and Seahorses may also be found among the mangroves. The sea grass beds have Parrotfish and Hogfish and occasional turtles. Manatees are rare visitors. Shark Ray Alley has Nurse sharks and Southern stingrays and and occasionally other fish.
Four categories of protected areas exist in Belize:
- National Parks are established for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public.
- Wildlife Sanctuaries protect nationally significant species that require specific human manipulation for their perpetuation.
- Natural Monuments are areas reserved for the protection and preservation of a nationally significant natural feature.
- Nature Reserves are reserved strictly for scientific research.
