Bienvenidos a GuardaMar de Puerto Rico!!

Bienvenidos a GuardaMar de Puerto Rico!!

Welcome to Puerto Rico CoastKeeper!!


Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has.
Margaret Mead

Nunca duden que un grupo pequeño de personas dedicadas puede cambiar el mundo. De hecho, nada mas lo puede hacer.
Margaret Mead

…we all come from the sea. – President John F. Kennedy

...todos venimos de la mar. - Presidente John F. Kennedy


As an island, Puerto Rico has always had a strong connection to the sea. The Arawaks came by sea. The Spanish came by sea. The Europeans came by sea. The Africans came, unwillingly, by sea. The Americans came by sea. Immigrants from all over the Caribbean and the world have come by sea. To this day, all of our cars and most of our food, clothes, appliances and consumer goods come by sea.

The ocean is the great depository of the Earth’s water stores. It provides us with food, opportunities for commerce, routes for exploration, inspiration of ideas, means of recreation, source of drinking water (from rain), and creating much of the natural beauty that helps define our national identity. It connects us to our land, to our drinking water, to our communities and to one another.

But most importantly, we all come from the sea and are made up of its components. The first living things were born in the primordial ooze that was a part of the sea. Through the millennia, single cell animals developed into bigger and more specialized species, first living in the sea, then walking out and adapting to land. We ourselves are made up of H2O. Our bodies are 66% water.

The sea provides us with the oxygen we breathe, ocean water evaporation drives the climate and weather by bringing rain to our mountains and streams, and sustenance for the crops we grow and consume. We are part of the ocean, and the ocean is part of us.

Siendo isla, Puerto Rico siempre ha tenido una conección fuerte al mar. Los Indios Arawaks vinieron por mar. Los Españoles vinieron por mar. Los Europeos vinieron por mar. Los Africanos vinieron, esclavizados, por mar. Los Americanos vinieron por mar. Los inmigrantes de todas partes del Caribe y del mundo han venido por mar. Al día de hoy, todos nuestros carros y la mayor parte de nuestros alimentos, ropa, enceres y productos de consumo vienen por mar.

El océano es el gran almacén de agua en nuestro palneta. Nos proporciona alimento, oportunidades de comercio, rutas de exploración y transportación, inspiración de ideas, medios de recreación, fuente de agua potable (en la forma de lluvia), y crea mucha de la belleza natural que define nuestra identidad nacional. Nos conecta a nuestra tierra, a nuestra agua potable, a nuestras comunidades y el uno al otro.

Pero más importante aún, todos venimos del mar y lo llevamos dentro. Los primeros animales salieron de la mar. Durante milenios, animales de una célula se convirtieron en especies más grandes y más especializadas, viviendo primero en el mar, y luego saliendo y adaptandose a la tierra. Nosotros mismos estamos compuestos de agua. Nuestros cuerpos son 66% de agua.

El mar nos proporciona el oxígeno que respiramos, la evaporación de aguas del océano maneja el clima trayendo lluvia a nuestras montañas y rios, y trayendo sustento para los comestibles que crecemos y consumimos. Nosotros somos parte del océano, y el océano es parte de nosotros.

What can we do to change things?
At the Beach

Leave the beach cleaner than you found it.

Wear waterproof sunscreen.

Clean up after your pet at the beach.

Don’t chase or feed the wildlife.

Bring a trash bag and pick up any litter you find.

Diving

Tie your boat to reef mooring buoys to prevent anchor damage to the living coral.

If there are no mooring buos, anchor in sand away from the reef, and make sure the anchor does not drag.

Dive or snorkel carefully, and avoid touching the coral

Don’t collect souvenirs. Do pick up discarded fishing line and any human debris that is not inhabited.

Don’t overcrowd a dive site. If it is crowded when you get there, go somewhere else.

Obey all fish and game laws while diving for lobsters or other underwater game.

Blue Boating

Make sure your boat has fuel-efficient four stroke engine or a new direct-injection two stroke engine.

Keep a supply of oil-absorbent rags on board for cleaning fuel spills. Diapers also work well.

Use legal bottom paints and biodegradable cleaning agents. Sand and scrape the bottom of the boat away from the water, and use a drop sheet to collect debris for proper disposal.

Be aware that in most coastal areas it is illegal to use a power sander on bottom paint unless you tent your vessel.

Do not discharge toilet waste in the ocean; use marina pump-out stations for your boat.

If you lose trash overboard, go back and retrieve it; discard all trash when you return to land.

When cleaning fish, use scales and offal as garden fertilizer by composting it with peat moss.

Make sure you do business with ecofriendly marinas, and talk to management about containing and controlling pollution.

Whale watching

Go on a whale watching expedition! Use boat operators who have adequate safety provisions, has high standards of customer care, and if possible, combines whale watching with research and conservation.

If you are on your own boat in areas where whales and dolphins congregate, minimize your speed to “no wake” and avoid sudden turns.

Minimize the noise you generate around whales and dolphins.

Do not pursue, encircle or come between whales, because these actions stress the animals and may provoke aggressive behavior on their part.

Approach animals from angles where they won’t be taken by surprise, and adhere to local and federal rules on how close you can get to them.




Links

Books to read