Ethics of Conservation

Fisherman's Pasta at Magadon restaurant. Amazing!

   This morning we took the boat out to a mangrove island located in the Caye Caulker Marine Reserve. It was very hot!! And there were a lot of mosquitos. But, it was very cool to see how biologists were working on planning new mangroves on the island. Then we went offshore to count turtle grass and manatee grass. The sea grasses are important because they filter the water, photosynthesize, and trap sediments before they can harm the reef systems. Sea grass populations must be monitored because sea grasses serve so many functions. Counting the sea grass was more challenging than I thought it would be. It’s hard to anchor yourself underwater and count the grass at the same time. After lunch we went back out to count Spiny Lobster. I saw three in the water, but we couldn’t manage to catch any to identify the sex. We also saw a nurse shark and a lionfish. One of the guides killed the lionfish. I was very surprised, but I learned that they are an invasive species here in Caye Caulker. I don’t think I could have done it myself. The fish suffered for a while after being speared before finally dying. I understand that sometimes individuals must suffer in order to keep the integrity of an entire ecosystem when following hollistic ethical theories. It was still sad to see the lionfish suffer like that though. We are finished snorkeling for the week, so I returned my snorkel gear and then went to a nice quiet dinner with some of the girls. Tomorrow we are off to inspect some restaurants and gift shops for illegal or out of season fish. This should be interesting!

Mangrove Island off of Caye Caulker