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Type: Marine Reserve
District(s): Stann Creek
Size:

1. Acres:  117,878 approximately
2. Hectares:  47,702.5 approximately
3. Perimeter:  111 km

Legislation: Fisheries Act – Chapter 210
Year Established: 1996
Gazette Reference: 1996/118
Management: Fisheries Department

South Water Caye Marine Reserve (SWCMR) is Belize’s largest Marine Reserve.  It is located approximately 15 miles southeast of Dangriga Town. With an area of some 62-sq miles, the reserve offers excellent opportunities to explore many of the myriad coastal gardens.  It is also home to sea grass beds, patch reefs, sand bores, two large mangrove ranges, numerous mangrove habitat, over a dozen major cayes and many smaller islets.  Like many reserves, the area is zoned to protect fishing nurseries and unique habitats but provides extensive multi-use areas for snorkeling, fishing, diving and educational activities.

The Government of Belize included South Water Caye Marine Reserve as an important part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage Site, established in 1996 for its "outstanding universal value", and is obligated under this international convention to conserve and protect the area.

South Water Caye Marine Reserve along with Gladden Spit Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, Laughing Bird Caye Marine Reserve and Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve, comprise the Southern Barrier Reef Complex, probably one of the areas with the highest biodiversity in the MAR (Mesoameria Reef) region.

SWCMR is managed directly by the Fisheries Department. The Belize Fisheries Department employs 5 staff at SWCMR. These include a manager, biologist, 2 rangers and a caretaker who are based at the southern end of Twin Cayes ranger station. The staff is responsible for enforcing the fisheries regulations, carrying out patrols, surveillance, research, monitoring, education, outreach, collection of visitor fees and overall management.

Visitor Fee:
Visitors must check in with the reserve staff and pay the following Visitor fees:

• Foreign Visitor is US$5 per person per day and US$15/person/week (3 to 10 days)

Fishing Licenses:

• Fishing licenses can be obtained at the Belize Fisheries Department.

Highlights of SWCMR

• Man–Of–War-Caye – Lying along the northern boarder of SWCMR is Man-of-War-Caye, an island covered with tall red mangroves.  Man-of-war is the colloquial name given to Magnificent Frigate Bird.  The island supports up to 350 nesting birds, including one of the ten largest colonies of the Magnificent Frigate Birds and Brown Boobies (Sula leucogaster) in the Caribbean.  The island is as well a crown reserve and one of the seven crown bird sanctuaries in Belize. It is a site to see when the frigate birds return to the island in the evenings.
• Carrie Bow Caye – About a mile south of South Water Caye lies Carrie Bow Caye which is the base for the Caribbean Coral Reef Marine Research Station operated by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution.  They have conducted research at Carrie Bow Caye since 1972 studying the linkages of coral and mangrove ecosystems.  The research sites for this station form some of the “most studied” coral reef and mangrove environments in the world.
• The area between Carrie Bow and Wee Wee Caye is called the sand bores.  These sand bores rise 30 to 40 feet from the sea floor, breaking the surface in many locations.  These exposed bores are used by sooty terns as nesting grounds, and the deep areas between the bores are habitats to barracuda and rays.  Sink holes, pinnacles, ridges and huge pillars, caves and sand troughs are all represented within a very small area.
• South Water Caye lies in the middle of South Water Caye Marine Reserve. There are several islands located within the Reserve including Tobacco and South Water Caye which sit right atop the barrier reef for snorkeling right off the beach.
• Healthy Coral Reefs – provide habitat to critically endangered species such as the Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus), the Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci), and the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and many other threatened species such as the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus).
• Twin Caye and Pelican Range – Verdant mangrove islands like Twin Caye and the Pelican Range harbor highly productive mangrove forests. This variety of luxuriant mangroves fosters a unique assemblage of invertebrates and juvenile fishes sheltering in their roots.
• Pelican Cayes – Within SWCMR, Pelican Caye has been identified as of particular importance, in recognition of the unique and fragile nature, and for the diversity of marine organisms occurring in the sub–tidal mangrove communities of the Pelican Range – unparalleled in the Caribbean.  These cayes include deep, clear lagoons encircled by steep, lush coral ridges, with coral reef, mangrove–root, and peat substrates, thickly overgrown by layers of brilliantly colored organisms, including sponges, tunicates, and marine plants.  Pelican Beach Resort is located on Pelican Caye.

No person shall secure a boat to the sea bed of the Conservation 1 Zone except by means of a mooring that is officially designated for this purpose, save in the case of an emergency where life and property are endangered, or with the prior written permission of the Reserve Manager.
Every diver in the conservational 1 Zone shall adhere to the following rules:

1. divers shall register with the Reserve Manager prior to entering the Conservational 1 Zone;
2. charter dives shall first obtain a license in accordance with these Regulations, before operating in the Conservation 1 Zone and all dive boats shall fly the "divers down flag" when they have divers in the water;
3. only certified scuba divers, or divers undergoing a training course conducted by a recognized instructor, are allowed to use scuba equipment in the Reserve;
4. dive guides are required to explain the rules of the Reserve to a diver within the Reserve;
5. every boat owner desirous of operating a boat in this Zone, shall first register his boat with the Fisheries Administrator in accordance with these Regulations;
6. every operator of a motor boat shall observe the low wake Zone boat way when approaching snorkelers or divers;
7. for Scuba tours, a maximum of eight divers per licensed dive master is permitted;
8. for snorkel tours, a maximum of eight snorkelers per licensed tour guide is permitted;
9. no person shall harass or in any way tamper with the any fauna within the Conservation 1 Zone.
10. For the purpose of this Regulation, "divers down flag" means a flag with a white diagonal strip upon a red or blue background.
11. No person shall engage in water–skiing or jet skiing within the conservation Zone

Preservation Zone

• No fishing, sport fishing, diving or any other water activity shall be permitted within the Preservation Zone
• No person shall operate a motor-boat within the Preservation Zone except in cases of emergency, or where written permission has first been obtained from the Fisheries Administrator

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