Undercurrent Saves Reefs

Last year, Undercurrent gave away $17,100 to projects that are important to our readers. To protect the Port Honduras Marine Reserve in southern Belize, we provided $2,500 of a $10,000 project to refurbish a sail boat, then provided $5,000 to purchase an outboard motor. This enables rangers to track down fish and manatee poachers by sailing quietly in the night, then turning on the powerful motor to catch the culprits.

We provided $2,500 of the $11,000 needed to build a kindergarten for Vuna Village, Taveuni Fiji, for which villagers agreed to set up a marine preserve of 3,010 acres and a forest preserve of 4,752 acres. Besides several small grants, we contributed $1,500 to the Wildlife Conservation Society station at Glover’s Reef in Belize and $2,000 to Seacology.

Our readers donated $9,228 to Undercurrent to save reefs (Undercurrent is a nonprofit corporation, and contributions to us are tax deductible). I’d like to thank several subscribers who were especially generous: Deborah Jean Fulton . . . Fred Silvester . . . Craig and Linda Condron . . . David Pascoe . . . Greg Grube . . . Barry Zigas . . . Julia Gumenik . . . Foster Bam . . . and Daniel Trent contributed two sets of night vision goggles so the Belize rangers can track poachers.

Will Maheia, who directs TIDE, the Belize organization responsible for the rangers, says, “Ben, those night vision goggles are amazing. One day in December, our rangers busted five gillnets in the marine reserve, thanks to those goggles.”

One easy way to help: Order diving books, or any books for that matter, by going to www.undercurrent. org. Our profits will go to save coral reefs. In fact, if you click on the Amazon icon on the book page, we get a fee no matter what you order — CDs, clothes, appliances, etc. — and those monies will be contributed to projects to save coral reefs.

-- Ben Davison