Last year when i was about to leave Utila i 'found' Pamela who worked for BICA when i was volunteering here in 2011. i was hoping that i would have been able to help her with 'something' last year, but unfortunately, i didn't 'find' her until i was about to leave. i sent her an email a couple weeks ago to let her know i was coming. she was happy to hear from me, and we met for 'coffee' one morning.
one of the things i am doing is taking an 'inventory' of all the restaurants and stores on the island that sell SeaFood. The Bay Islands have developed a Responsible SeaFood Guide, that they are trying to get the restaurants, stores, and consumers to commit to. The Guide provides recommendations and info to help people make informed decisions about what seafood to eat.
These seafood choices will allow sustainability of the fish populations in The Bay Islands .... they have been over-fished for years and it cannot continue.
What is sustainable seafood? Sustainable seafood is fish or shellfish that is caught in a way that considers the long-germ productivity of the targeted species, as well as the general health of the ocean and all it's inhabitants.
Another project involves a FaceBook page called Utila Environmental News .... we want to post photos of different 'targeted' fish species and tell a little bit about them and why it is important that they be sustained.
so, i'm looking through my photos, but unfortunately, since there aren't many of them around, i don't see them while i am snorkeling :( ....i.e., lobster, conch, sharks, grouper ... i have photos of those species, but the photos are not from Utila ... Roatan and Belize, yes, but not Utila .... :( ...so i am asking around at the Dive Shops to see if anyone has photos taken in 'Utila waters', that they would be willing to share.
i also like to help out at the Vet Clinic on Tuesdays. i've been doing this since my first year here too ... and because of that i was able to 'save' a little kitten a couple years ago. some of you may remember the story, i don't mind telling it again: in 2012, i saw a 'teenage' cat at one of the stores... who was very pregnant, (she was just a kitten herself)... the next day i got 'permission' to take her to the Clinic and i actually 'assisted' with the sterilization procedure.... cared for her that night and returned her to the store... visited her every night... (i called her my 'Little Valentine' because it was on Valentines Day).... and asked them (in my non-Spanish) to take good care of her when i left.
i spent the next winter in the Galapagos, so 2 years later when i returned to Utila, i immediately went to the store and was heartbroken to hear that she was 'gone'... a few days later i was at my favorite restaurant, The Driftwood,... and who do i see? ... a yellow and white kitty ... it was my 'Little Valentine' ! ...i was so happy i cried! ...i know the owners and some of the local patrons, and i knew she was in a good place. they said she had 'just showed up' there in November, and her name was 'Miss Kitty' coz she already ruled the place. she had to travel a 15min walk through what probably was 'hostile territory' to get there.
obviously i visited The Driftwood this year, and heard she was still 'ruling the place' ... she is very well fed and healthy ..
happy me :)
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