Sapodilla Cayes

Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Gulf of Honduras
Nearest city	Punta Gorda[1]
Coordinates	16°08′46″N 88°16′52″W[2]
Area	15,618 hectares (38,590 acres)
Established	1996
Governing body	Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment Southern Environmental Association

Disputed island
Location in relation to Belize
Administration
Belize
Claimed by
Guatemala

The Sapodilla Cayes (Spanish: Cayos Zapotillos)[3] is an uninhabited atoll in the Gulf of Honduras, in the Toledo District of Belize. They are administered by Belize, but Guatemala claims that the Belize–Guatemala maritime boundary is northwest of the cayes.[4] Honduras also lays a claim to the Sapodilla Cayes in its 1982 constitution.[3]

Geography

The Sapodilla Cayes are a system of cayes, or low sandy islands, that are part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

Facing south on Hunting Caye, with Lime Caye in the background

Marine reserve

Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve is a national protected marine reserve declared over the Sapodilla Cayes. It was established in 1996 and is administered by the Fisheries Department of Belize.[5]

Important Bird Area

A 1.2m ha site off the coast of Belize, comprising the nation’s offshore and barrier islands, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of several resident, passage or breeding bird species, including white-crowned pigeons, red-footed boobies, roseate terns, Yucatan vireos, black catbirds, and golden-winged and cerulean warblers. The IBA encompasses the South Water Caye, Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes, Sapodilla Cayes and Glover's Reef marine reserves, Half Moon Caye, Laughing Bird Caye and Man-O-War Caye islands, as well as several spawning aggregations.[6]

References

1. Belize Tourism Board. "Sapodilla Cayes Marine Park". Travel Belize. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
2. "Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve". protectedplanet.net.
3. Hudson, T.; Burr, J. (1986). "The Sapodilla Cays: Geopolitical Asterisk in the Bay of Honduras". Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
4. Prescott, John Robert Victor (1985). The Maritime Political Boundaries of the World (1st ed.). London: Methuen. pp. 347–350. ISBN 0-416-41750-7.
5. Belize Tropical Forest Studies (2010). "Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve". Biodiversity and Environmental Resource Data System. Archived from the original on 2012-05-08.
6. "Belize Off-shore and Barrier Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

External links