ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach
A dive briefing · Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras

Mandy's Eel Garden

Dive site at a Roatan Marine Park mooring off Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Roatánreef
At this sitegeotagged 405 m from the site coordinates Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach · Jakub Kwiatkowski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis)
Chapter I · Arrival

Mandy's Eel Garden: dive site at a Roatan Marine Park mooring off Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras.

16.2725° N86.6021° W · Roatan Marine Park dive-mooring map, marker “MANDYS EEL GARDEN”
6,235open records · GBIF
74species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 93 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Bonnie Isaac · CC0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis)

Shore and boat entries vary by site. We list only rules we can cite from official sources; entry points, depths and currents will be added once we can verify them.

Mooring position (cited)Coordinates are the published position of the named mooring: Roatan Marine Park dive-mooring map, marker “MANDYS EEL GARDEN”.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation.
Local rules (cited)

At this sitegeotagged 93 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Bonnie Isaac · CC0 · iNaturalist

Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 405 m from the site coordinates Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach · Jakub Kwiatkowski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Mandy's Eel Garden rises to meet you.

Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 452 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Bluehead Wrasse
Striped Parrotfish
Yellowtail Damselfish
Stoplight Parrotfish
Blue Tang
Slippery Dick
French Grunt
White Encrusting Zoanthid
Foureye butterflyfish
Mahogany Snapper
Common sea fan
Redband Parrotfish

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Bluehead Wrasse (15)
  2. Striped Parrotfish (7)
  3. Stoplight Parrotfish (7)
  4. Yellowtail Damselfish (7)
  5. Blue Tang (7)
  6. Slippery Dick (6)
  7. French Grunt (5)
  8. Foureye butterflyfish (4)
  9. White Encrusting Zoanthid (4)
  10. Mahogany Snapper (3)
  11. Goldline Blenny (3)
  12. Redband Parrotfish (3)
  13. Redfin Parrotfish (3)
  14. Sergeant Major (3)
  15. Longfin Damselfish (3)
  16. Common sea fan (3)
  17. Schoolmaster Snapper (2)
  18. Yellowtail Snapper (2)
  19. Spotfin butterflyfish (2)
  20. Bar jack (2)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 6,235 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Honduras” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Honduras

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-138.8°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Honduras”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Honduras” station climatology (monthly means).

CENAOS / COPECO (Honduras) · forecasts →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Check the cited local rules above and pay any park fee before you dive.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
Roatan Marine Park dive-mooring map, marker “MANDYS EEL GARDEN” · source · Roatan Marine Park, public map. Roatan Marine Park dive-site mooring map (the park’s published Google My Maps layer of its moorings). Each site uses the named mooring marker.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 6,151, CC0_1_0: 84
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (6,020 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (186 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Birda - Global Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/6kud7x (15 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Field Museum of Natural History (Zoology) Fish Collection · doi:10.15468/alz7wu (12 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Natural History Museum Rotterdam - Specimens · doi:10.15468/kwqaay (2 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=16.262472,16.282472000000002&decimalLongitude=-86.61212900000001,-86.592129&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Honduras”
Hero photo
At this sitegeotagged 405 m from the site coordinates Agata Zalecka Roatan Honduras 2023 CMAS World Underwater rekord 73 metry głębokości Polski w płetwach · Jakub Kwiatkowski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 93 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Bonnie Isaac · CC0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources