On June 2nd, CORAL joined Honduran dignitaries, local community members, and our conservation partners at the Roatan Ocean Festival to celebrate recent key conservation milestones, including enhanced protections for Cordelia Banks. Cordelia is one of the Caribbean’s largest known stands of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis)—an IUCN critically endangered species. Like many coral species, staghorn coral has declined by more than eighty percent since the 1980s due to the effects of disease, climate change, and other human-related factors. This spring, the Honduran government confirmed its commitment to protecting the country's coral reefs by declaring Cordelia a Site of Wildlife Importance, a critical first step to protecting this spectacular natural resource. Roatan's ocean festival celebrated this success and helped raise awareness of the continued threats to regional reef health, affirming the community’s dedication to ensuring that vibrant coral reef communities exist for generations to come.
“We need to protect our coral reefs—they are very important for our island, for our Honduras, for everyone. Let’s care for our environment, our oceans.”