Gladden Spit & the Silk Cayes were declared a Marine Reserve in May 2000 and a recent economic study (2007) showed that it produced large economic benefits for a relatively low investment cost. Gladden Spit was protected primarily because of the spawning aggregations of snappers and the whale sharks that visit reliably to feed on their spawn.
Since SEA (Southern Environmental Association, formerly Friends of Nature) has been co-managing the reserve with the Fisheries Department, numerous studies have taken place, and tourism has grown every year. Whale sharks are the main attraction, but over 20 different species of reef fish aggregate to spawn at Gladden Spit. A dive at the right time has international draw; nowhere else in the world can divers be likely to encounter whale sharks and thousands of big Cubera and Dog snappers, Horse Eye jacks and other reef fish on a single dive. Anything might pass underwater visitors on this open ocean dive, including dolphins, turtles, mantas, and bull sharks.
But as tourism increases, questions arise: is tourism adversely affecting the fish and/or the whale sharks? SEA has strict regulations in place regarding the number of boats and people in the water at any one time, but anyone who has visited during an April or May moon knows that there might be 90 people in the water at once!
Will Heyman (Texas A&M University) and Phil Lobel (Boston University) set out to answer some questions about divers’ effect on the fish with funding from Conservation International. They extracted over nine hours of video footage from hundreds of hours shot at Gladden between 1998 and 2009. Based on over 700 recorded interactions with divers and the schooling fish, there did not appear to be any significant harm to the aggregations. Phil Lobel is continuing to study sounds fish make and sounds fish hear by using a re-breather and sophisticated recording equipment – he has found that snappers make a noise in response to divers and for courtship. Whether or not boat sounds from above can change these behaviors has still not been determined.
Venetia Hargreaves-Allen conducted an intensive economic study and found that management expenditures of US$315,000 in 2007 secured over US$4 million in benefits to tourism businesses, the local community and tourists! In another study (2008), whale shark tourism generated over US$10,000.00 a day in ticket and tour sales alone. Looking to the future, this reserve can generate US$13-29 million over the next 25 years for Belize.
While these studies are encouraging, there is still room for improvement. The No-Take Zone is currently only around the Silk Cayes and does not include the North Wall dive site, a top-notch wall dive that is comparable to the best dives in the atolls (Lighthouse, Turneffe, Glovers). The ticket sales (US$15 for whale shark site, US$10 for Silks) do not currently cover management costs. Multiple visitor surveys indicate foreigners are willing to spend between US$25 and $50 to enter the Gladden Spit & Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. The entrance fee for Blue Hole Natural Monument on Lighthouse Reef is US$30 for comparison.
So Belizeans, head down soon to see what’s yours and why the international film crews keep coming here! The June full moon is the 26th and last moon produced whale shark sightings every day! You don’t have to be a diver: snorkelers see them also. They are a magnificent sight and user fees are used to support the management of this area.
Call the SEA office (523-3377) or visit these websites for more information:
Southern Environmental Association: http://www.seabelize.org/AboutUs.htm
Venetia Hargraves Allen Policy and Economic Study: http://conservation-strategy.org/sites/default/files/field-file/csf_policy_brief_7_en.pdf