Donations Driving More Coral Restoration Projects

By MONIQUE VERNON Outreach Officer Fragments of Hope (FoH) fohoutreach@gmail.com

The Hatchet Caye Resort and Wild Orchid/Moho Caye group has been named a Chrysurus member for their donation of over BZ$10,000 towards the coral restoration work and advocacy efforts carried out by Fragments of Hope

Fragments of Hope (FoH), the Placencia based organization establishing coral restoration projects in Belize since 2013 has seen many successes. With over 23 in situ coral nurseries established and maintained in southern Belize, South Water Caye and Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, and over 77,000 nursery-grown corals out-planted at Laughing Bird Caye National Park alone, the continued efforts towards safeguarding the critically endangered Caribbean Acroporid corals deem promising, but they can’t do it alone.

Placencia Resort Group Named New Chrysurus Top-Level Sponsor: Through the generous donations from Hatchet and Wild Orchid/Moho Caye, FoH will be carrying out several activities this year leading up to 2019. A few of these activities include:

• Increasing awareness via posters, coloring books and puzzles doubling the amount budgeted under their GEF Small Grants Program (SGP) grant.

• Providing a one-week summer session on Sandwatch activities for primary school students from Placencia and Seine Bight with added emphasis on mangrove ecology.

• Conduct lionfish roundups in partnership with the Placencia Tour Guide Association (PTGA) and the Southern Environmental Association at the upcoming Placencia Lobsterfest and the 2019 Placencia Sidewalk Art Festival.

• Conduct at least three community consultations with Seine Bight, Monkey River and Placencia Villages to identify community needs and citizen science programs.

• Continue reef replenisment activities and more.

Donors who contribute over BZ$10,000 qualify for a “Chrysurus” membership named after the yellow tail damsel fish (Mycrospathodon chysurus) featured in our logo. This designation provides several benefits including an annual field expedition to our restoration sites, an invitation to our annual coral mixer and mentions in The Placencia Breeze newspaper. Consequently, we are pleased to announce Hatchet & Wild Orchid/Moho Caye as our new Chrysurus donor. They are guaranteed perpetual membership and promotion of their business in FoH publicity tools.

Grant Facilitates Regional Exchange Program with Jamaica: With a mission to replenish critically endangered coral species in degraded reef areas, increase capacity building and knowledge exchange, FoH was thrilled to have received funding from GEF SGP that propelled a recent regional exchange program with coral restoration practitioners from Oracabessa Bay Fish Sanctuary, members of the Sandals Boscobel Fish Sanctuary in Jamaica, and the FoH team. The brief exchange allowed visits to Laughing Bird Caye National Park, information sharing, and hands on experience outplanting corals at the Silk Caye Marine Reserve (via MAR Fund) and South Water Caye Marine Reserve (via the World Bank Adaptation Fund and MCCAP).

In less than a month, members of FoH visited Jamaica, directly assisting the Oracabessa and Sandals team with their coral outplanting. The collaborative efforts between regional colleagues in Jamaica and Belize has been educational and rewarding. FoH is in full support to increase region exchanges and thrilled with in country cooperation between groups in Jamaica working towards the same goal: More Corals = More Fish. FoH is planning another exchange this year with Mexican reef restoration practitioners, via a grant from the MAR Fund.

Private Donations Support Lionfish Eradication: Important to FoH is promoting marine conservation education and reef restoration in local communities like Placencia. With thousands of successfully outplanted fragmented corals and increased fish populations, things are looking up. Still, with the invasive lionfish on the loose, the health of our marine ecosystem can be jeopardized.

Thankfully, with recent private donations, FoH is pleased to sponsor towards lionfish eradication at Placencia’s 2018 Lobsterfest. Together with the PTGA and Hatchet Caye, the planned Lionfish Roundup will have one main goal: to eradicate as much lionfish within a given time period while simultaneously participating in adventure dives. So, on Friday, June 22, the hunt is on! Let's see how many of these critters our five teams will remove from our waters. Join us at the pier or visit our FoH, Hatchet Caye and PTGA booths to experience the thrill!

FoH’s mission is primarily funded by grants and donations and would be impractical without such support from a caring community. If you or your business are interested in donating to FoH and becoming more involved with the work they do, please visit our website at fragmentsofhope.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram. FoH is also registered in the United States as a non-profit 501c3 organization. ▪

French grunts (Haemulon flavolineatum) swim around staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis). The patch is a tiny part of the more than 77,000 nursery grown outplanted corals at Laughingbird Caye National Park (LBCNP) that illustrates FoH's motto “More Corals=More Fish”. FoH has been collecting fish diversity and abundance data on replenished sites at LBCNP since 2014 and expects to publish on these results in 2019.

Save the Date!

FoH ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING Where: Placencia Community Center When: Thursday, June 14, 2018 @ 6 p.m.

The meeting will comprise of several topics such as: Regional exchange, Hatchet Caye donation, New FoH member, Lionfish roundup, Sandwatch (school program) summer session, Reef themed parade (September celebrations), Corals, Promotional materials, Seaweed and crab farming. Equally important are your opinions, requests and ideas. So, spread the word, bring a friend and let's talk science.

Light refreshments will be provided. See you there!

Monique Vernon is a new member of the FoH team. A native of Placencia Village, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from the University of Belize (2016). She carries extensive experience with youth and schools and worked with FoH in 2017 implementing the Sandwatch program. FoH is dedicated to employing local coastal community members.