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 / 16.146°N 88.281°W / 16.146; -88.281Coordinates: 16°08′46″N 88°16′52″W / 16.146°N 88.281°W / 16.146; -88.281[2]
Area 15,618 hectares (38,590 acres)
Established 1996
Governing body
  • Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Southern Environmental Association

The Sapodilla Cayes (Spanish: Cayos Zapotillos, Cayos Sapodilla or Cayos Sapote)[3] are an uninhabited atoll in the Gulf of Honduras. They are in the Toledo District of Belize.

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.
Entrance dock on Hunting Caye, to the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve.
Disputed islands

They are generally considered to be within the territorial waters of 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]

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]

References

  1. ↑ Belize Tourism Board. "Sapodilla Cayes Marine Park". Travel Belize. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve". protectedplanet.net.
  3. 1 2 Hudson, T.; Burr, J. (1986). "The Sapodilla Cays: Geopolitical Asterisk in the Bay of Honduras". Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Prescott, J.R.V. (1985). The Maritime Political Boundaries of the World. 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.
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