Hol Chan — Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Management

Document Actions

Identification

Name	Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Short Name	Hol Chan
General Description	Off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye is Belize's oldest marine reserve, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Hol Chan is Mayan for 'little channel." The entire reserve focuses on a cut through the reef (called a quebrada) which is little more than 25 yards (23 m) wide and 30 feet (9 m) deep about 4 miles southeast of San Pedro. The reserve was formed primarily as a community-based initiative due to concern over the high level of uncontrolled, often destructive fishing and diving activities in the area. Reserve status was also called for by international organizations such as the New York Zoological Society (NYZS) and Peace Corps, due to the unique formation of the channel, the abundant fishery resources (including conch and lobster) and the feasibility of including an interlinked system of coral reef, seagrass and mangrove habitats in this area. The no-take area comprises 4.5 km2
Country or territory	Belize
Geographic location	Approximately 4 miles SE of San Pedro Town off the southern tip of Ambergris Caye, northern tip of Belize
Ecoregion location	Western Caribbean
Boundaries	17 52 11, -87 59 52
Map
Map URL	http://www.holchanbelize.org/loc.html
no map
Total surface area (km²)	55.2
Land surface area (km²)	0.3
Sea surface area (km²)	4.9
Shoreline length (km)
Site national category	Marine Reserve
Site international designation	Part of the Belize Barrier Reef System World Heritage Site.
IUCN category	II: National park

Legal

Designation	Legally designated or approved
Date established	July 05, 1987
Legal citation	Fisheries (Hol Chan Area Marine Reserve) Order
Citation reference URL
Other legal designations	SI 107 of December 1998 SI 113 of October 1989
Other legal designations reference URLs
Primary responsible institution	Fisheries Department
Primary contact	Miguel Alamilla
Address Address of primary contact or management office	P.O. Box 60 San Pedro Town, Belize, and Fisheries Department P.O. Box 148, Belize City
Phone number(s)	(501) 2262247
Fax number(s)	(501) 2262420
Email	hcmr@btl.net
Web site(s)

Physical description

Climate
Geological features selected from: cliffs, terraces, beaches, rocky shores, volcanic formations, islands, keys, atolls, blue holes, sink holes, caves, swamp, marsh, active volcano, dormant volcano, caldera, submarine canyon, mogotes or cockpit, lava field, outstanding speleothems, karstic	beaches, rocky shores, keys, blue holes
Hydrological features selected from: sheet flow, river(s) drainage, stream(s) drainage, springs(s), underground water drainage, ocean gyre, ocean loop/meandering current, upwelling
Other hydrological features
Terrestrial habitats	Several of the islands also include dry land with other mangrove species such as Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Avicennia germinans (black mangrove), and Conocarpus erectus (buttonwood). One of the cayes near the north eastern reserve border is also a favorite roosting area for a variety of birds.
Terrestrial flora and fauna species
Marine habitats	Hol Chan's one square mile coral reef zone can be divided into four habitats:the back reef, reef crest, fore reef, and the channel or cut across the barrier reef. Approximately .75 (linear) miles of the back reef habitat is north of the channel. This section is separated from the grassbeds by a "sand row" approximately 40 meters wide which has no seagrass cover. This sandy area is inhabited by a wide variety of mollusca including the Queen conch (Strombus gigas). The depth of this "sand row" is approximately 1.75 meters, while the remainder of the back reef habitat (both north and south of the cut) has a depth of about one meter. This northern back reef habitat is characterized by large formations of elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) which grow out in finger-like projections perpendicular to the reef crest. There is a high degree of bioerosion of these corals, particularly those closer to the reef crest. The mangrove habitat contains seven mangrove cayes and several navigable channels including the "Boca Chica" channel which borders the southern tip of Ambergris Caye (also the southernmost point on the Yucatan Peninsula). Although most of the mangroves and other vegetation in the area have already been cleared, a fringing border of primarily Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) extends along the intertidal zone, with a width of approximately 11 - 22 meters and an average height of 4 - 5.4 meters (Dotherow, 1992c ). The "Boca Chica" Channel itself is approximately 3 meters deep, tapering up to about 1.5 meters along the mangrove borders. Seagrasses Thalassia, Syringodium and calcareous algas halemedia and penicillus are found in patches from sparse to dense, throughout the channel. Water clarity fluctuates widely from an estimated 1 - 8 meters. The dominant mangrove species, R. mangle, also lines the other channels and islands in this zone, providing abundant mangrove root system habitat. These root systems host a variety of sponges, tunicates, invertebrates and juvenile fish. The sea grass beds of the lagoon habitat covers the largest area of the reserve, physically linking the mangrove and coral reef habitats into one continual ecosystem. The multiple layer coverage of sponges and algae creates a sheltered habitat for numerous juvenile fish and invertebrates. In an adjacent area closer to the bordering mangrove zone, there is an assemblage of large loggerhead sponges. There is little seagrass in the area and the fine sediments form a thin layer over the occasionally exposed bedrock. The sponges and numerous fissures in the bedrock provide a habitat for numerous juvenile lobsters found in this area. see http://www.holchanbelize.org/zonea.html
Marine flora	Thalassia, Syringodium and calcareous algas halemedia and penicillus. Among the many algae is the commercially valuable Eucheuma isoforme, used locally in "seaweed smoothies".
Marine invertebrates and fishes	Over 160 species of fish have been identified in the reserve, along with nearly 40 species of corals, 5 sponges, 8 algaes, 2 seagrasses, 3 marine mammals and 3 species of sea turtle Approximately fifteen species of sponges have been identified and several were unidentifiable. some small hard corals such as Manicina areolata and Favia fragum. Fish and invertebrates representative of this habitat are present, including a notably large population of Queen Conch.brain corals (Diploria spp.), Starlet corals (Siderastrea spp.), boulder corals (Montastrea spp.), some patches of Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), along with numerous sea fans (Gorgonia spp.) and other soft corals are dispersed throughout the area. The .25 (linear) miles of back reef south of the cut is characterized by large formations of finger corals (Porites spp.) and lettuce corals (Agaricia spp.) which cover large areas perpendicular to the reef crest. Near the southern border is a shallow region of coral rubble and sand covered with Dictoyta spp. algae. Large schools of blue tangs and grunts are common, as are triggerfish, hog fish, parrot fish, barracuda and nurse sharks. Black tipped reef sharks and juvenile sea turtles (probably logger head, Caretta caretta)are occasionally seen. The reef crest foundation consists primarily of dead elkhorn and boulder corals, amalgamated into "reef cement" and covered with turf algas and fire coral (Millepora spp.). the depth of this high energy wave zone is generally .4 meters to 0 meters, with numerous dead elkhorn coral tips breaking the water's surface during low tides. There are several deeper areas or "mini-cuts" which allow further water exchange and passage across the reef for some smaller schools of fish. For a list of species go to http://www.holchanbelize.org/life.html
Marine mammals, birds and sea turtles	Marine mammals: Delphinus delphis and Stenella attenuata West Indian Manatee - Trichechus manatus.Sea turtles: Eretmochelys imbricata, Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas
Endangered species
Special aggregation sites

Management

Primary management institution Institution responsible for day to day management	Fisheries Department
Other institutions that participate in management	Hol Chan Trust Fund. Marine Reserve Advisory Committee Each reserve has an advisory committee, which is composed of similar representation from each area respectively. The composition is as follows: 1 representative from each Village councils and/or Town Board; 1 NGO that is co-managing; 1 Other relevant conservation NGOs; 2 area representative appointees; 1 fishing cooperative(s), where there is a cooperative; local tour guide association representatives; local Tourism Industry Association representative; relevant land owners; the reserve manager. The purpose of the advisory committee is to review current management activities and management plans, make recommendations for management of the reserves and advise the Minister on relevant management policies.
Personnel	Manager, assistant manager, three rangers.
Management objectives selected from: species protection, ecosystem protection, fisheries management, user conflict resolution, recreational/tourism use, navigation restrictions	species protection, ecosystem protection, fisheries management, recreational/tourism use
Other management objectives	Are for education adn research, preserve genetic resources
Management framework Management regime, framework, or plan	1
Date of establishment of management framework
Last update of management framework
Management programmes selected from: advisory committee, co-managment with private sector, construction regulations, education/outreach program, emergency operations program, enforcement program, financial or business plan, entrance/user fees, fisheries regulations, fishers exclusive rights, fundraising program, habitat restoration program, institutional arrangements for management, monitoring program, mooring bouys, natural resources damage assessment authority, navigational restrictions, on-site staff, permiting program, research facilities, research program, signalization, solid waste management, sustainable and environmentally sound production, tourism regulations, visitors center, volunteer program, water quality management program, zoning scheme	advisory committee, co-managment with private sector, education/outreach program, enforcement program, entrance/user fees, fisheries regulations, institutional arrangements for management, on-site staff, permiting program, tourism regulations, visitors center, zoning scheme
Zoning selected from: anchoring, buffer zone, commercial fisheries, cultural resources, diving, no-take, no permanent constructions, public use, recreational fisheries, subsistence fisheries, other
Other zone types	Zones A, B, C, D (Sark ALley).
Funding sources	Enforcement, education, zoning, user fees and sale of souvenir items for income generation.
Cultural resources Submerged and land features, resources or landmarks
Fisheries resources
Fisheries regulations Main fisheries regulations of the site	Reef zone, fishing and collecting prohibited, other activities regulated. Seagrass and mangrove zones, fishing regulated and restricted, collecting prohibited. Zone D (Shark Ray Alley) recreational zone for feeding sharks and rays.
Coastal development Construction regulations	Several communities on Ambergris Cay, and the largest is San Pedro Town.
Beach management selected from: beach nourishment, vegetation restoration, beach sand cleaning regulations, groins, wave breakers, construction restrictions
Monitoring programmes selected from: coral reef health, coral reef resilience, fish surveys, ReefCheck, sea turtles, SocMon, other socioeconomic monitoring program, user patterns, water quality monitoring
Other monitoring programmes
Issues or threats for accomplishing management objectives	Conflicts exist between diving and fishing activities occasionally.
Role of site in network
Areas of special expertise for knowledge transfer

Sections

Personal tools

Document Actions