8 to 10 Tons of Trash Collected from Solarte Mangrove Dump Sites
On May 20, 2026, community members mobilized to clear waste out of two illegal mangrove dump sites of the southern side of Solarte Island. A third site was discovered during the outing. Around two dozen volunteers on five boats were split into two teams; each team working on one of the two dump sites that […]
Support the Lobster Ban! March 1 to June 30
It’s that time of year again: let our local lobsters reproduce! Every year from March 1 to June 30 the capture, sale and consumption of the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is prohibited in Panama. Central American and Caribbean nations have agreed to this policy to enable the annual undisturbed reproduction of the species in […]
Bocas del Toro’s First Sloth Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Is Official!
As many of you know, Keep Bocas Wild has been rescuing injured and orphaned wildlife over the past few years with the help of Papá Gato Animal Welfare. Of all the wildlife we have helped, the overwhelming majority of the calls we respond to are for sloths. To date we have treated over 60 sloths, […]
Anchors Destroying Coral Reefs: Calling for Collaborative Action in Bocas
On Sunday, March 2, 2025, a disturbing incident unfolded off the northwest coast of Solarte Island when a large yacht improperly anchored on the coral reef, causing extensive damage. Local diver and environmental advocate Alexander Jairo Keppel of Bocas Pirates Dive Center witnessed the destruction firsthand and took action to raise awareness. Eyewitness Account Keppel […]
Proyecto Playa Istmito Summary Report
Article by Eileen Haskett Community Involvement Proyecto Playa Istmito was a citizen science initiative led by the STRI Bocas Research Station, with data collection beginning July 2023 and ending June 2024. The project’s primary focus was to educate students of the Bocas del Toro archipelago on an algal bloom frequently occurring on Playa Istmito in […]
Community-Led Conservation: Bocas del Toro Builds Wildlife Bridges
On January 17, 2025, the Bocas del Toro community demonstrated the power of unity in protecting local wildlife. Volunteers, local businesses, government agencies, and a multinational energy company joined forces to install a rope bridge in Big Creek, Isla Colón, spanning the road near Skully’s and Ciao Pizza. This bridge connects tree canopies on either […]
Shifting Gears in a Changing World
The oceans of the world compose a very dynamic and complex system that governs the way everything in the ecosystem of our planet functions. It is an ever-changing and developing world that strives to achieve balance throughout all of its various components. It has been reasonably successful for the last 20 million years. However, in […]
Festivals and Fragile Ecosystems: the Return of Ad Sidera Semper
Updated November 1 to include comments from the Ministry of Environment Bocas del Toro regional office. Ad Sidera Semper, an electronic music festival, has returned for its third year, moving to Red Frog Beach in Bocas del Toro after two previous events at Bluff Beach. The event has sparked local controversy, with residents and conservationists […]
Keep Bocas Wild (and Safe for Animals): Community Urges Power Company to Protect Local Fauna
Sorry for the distressing featured image. However it has become an all too familiar reality in the Bocas del Toro of 2024. Unfortunately, the community is seeing an increase in the electrocution of monkeys, sloths and other jungle animals at an alarming rate. As the road construction continues with wider roads, less canopy connection and […]
Algae Crash Course: Information About Algae Around Bocas Del Toro
If you’ve ever wondered what all that smelly black stuff is on the beach, read on and we may be able to answer a few of your questions. The Playa Istmito Project is a participatory science project in which Bocatoreño students partner with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to learn about algal blooms, how they […]
The Red Frogs of Bocas
This brightly colored, minute amphibian stands out in the forest without a care in the world considering that while (s)he might otherwise be a delectable morsel on some predator’s menu, this colorful little frog has no issue. And it’s all thanks to what they eat. Akin to micro-machines, these tiny, tropical frogs may be something […]
Project Playa Istmito: Involving Local Students in the Study of an Algal Bloom on Isla Colón
Algal deposits on Playa Istmito (Little Isthmus Beach) have long been a topic of interest for citizens of Isla Colón, the largest island in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, situated along Panama’s Caribbean coast. The beach, located on a narrow strip of land connecting the Bocas Town with the rest of the island, is sporadically […]
Mangrove Garbage Dumping: Who Cares?
What do you do in Bocas del Toro when you come across HUNDREDS of trash bags piled into mountains in and on top of mangroves? What do you do when you repeatedly tell the agencies that you would expect to react and absolutely nothing happens? Seriously. Asking for some friends… On May 13, 2023, guests […]
Music Festival on Bluff Beach: Can Party Tourism Coexist with a Nature Reserve?
Summary of Key Points Lee la nota en español aqui – An electronic music festival called Ad Sidera Semper will take place in Bocas del Toro October 12-16. A portion of the festival is scheduled to happen on Bluff Beach, near a Municipal Nature Reserve. This is the second year of the event. – Based […]
Fashion, Muralism and Coral Rebuilding at La Coralina Island House
Fashion, muralism and coral rebuilding at La Coralina Island House! September 24, 2023, the Bocas del Toro community came out for “Stars of the Sea,” a memorable event co-hosted by Mother of Corals and Coral Nation. What was the occasion? To announce the launch of a collaborative Coral Program. The first phase […]
Navigating Toward Sustainability
Bocas del Toro takes a radical step toward protecting its marine wonders by empowering the conscious captains of the islands with valuable conservation knowledge. EN ESPAÑOL After the Bocas del Toro archipelago was chosen as one of Mission Blue’s hope spots, the Bocas Hope Spot Coalition quickly obtained the necessary funding to pursue one of […]
Lobster Ban or No Lobster Ban? Exemptions and Extensions in Bocas del Toro
Lobster Ban or No Lobster Ban? Exemptions and Extensions for the 2023 Lobster Ban in Bocas del Toro Since 2015, Central American and Caribbean nations have participated in an international agreement to protect the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in what is known in Spanish as “la veda de langosta:” the seasonal ban on the […]
Help Bocas Fishermen Slay More Lionfish
Bocas del Toro is consuming more lionfish than ever before. A group of fishermen from Isla San Cristobal that specializes in hunting lionfish is seeking the community’s help to invest in tools to be able to further control the lionfish population. There will be lionfish tournaments on March 12 and March 26, 2022, as well […]
A Bright Future for Rainforest Preservation in Dolphin Bay
There will be 100 acres of rainforest preservation in Dolphin Bay thanks to a donation by Ted Hannig to the Institute of Tropical Ecology and Conservation. Dr. Peter Lahanas, Director of the non-profit organization, the Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation,(“ITEC”) (left side) announced today that this December his organization received a donation of 100 […]
Lionfish in Bocas Have Met Their Match
Lionfish in Bocas have met their match with so many businesses and restaurants on board to get the whole archipelago ‘eating the enemy.’ Adding this invasive yet delicious species to your daily cuisine is easier than ever. Beautiful, striped and exotic-looking, and complete with 18 venomous spines, this voracious vulture is causing a growing rate […]
Bocas Rainforest Reforestation Initiative Is Launched
Every June, Panama celebrates National Reforestation Day and this year a newly formed organization, Bocas Rainforest Reforestation Initiative (BRRI), held an event in Dolphin Bay, where over 150 tree saplings were planted! The day was organized by the founders of BRRI, Brian and Amy Wilcox of Dolphin Bay Hideaway, along with Dr. Peter Lahanas and […]
Coral Bleaching in Bocas del Toro
This past September and October Bocas del Toro was full of sunny days, blue skies… and white corals? Many residents of Bocas del Toro noticed white corals in our reefs, visible even from the surface on calm days when we had aquarium-like visibility. The reefs are prone to coral bleaching in Bocas del Toro during […]
Wasteless World: A Proposal for the Bocas del Toro Plastic Problem
Bocas del Toro recycling is coming! – Tom Wright has a vision of a world with community-lead plastic recycling workshops so that small villages everywhere can do something productive with their plastic waste. – Wright founded Wasteless World with this first objective in mind and the overall mission of being able influencing global policy to […]
Many Single-Use Plastics to be Phased Out in Panama During 2021-2023
President Laurentino Cortizo passed the law No. 187 of December 2, 2020, which calls for the phasing out and replacement of various articles of single-use plastics in Panama during the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Mentioned specifically in the legislation are the following single-use plastic products (see official graphics below): To be phased out beginning […]
100 Palm Trees Planted on Playa Istmito by Bocas Limpia
Español abajo What a great way to celebrate the summer solstice than by planting over 100 palm trees on Playa Istmito! “The goal was to plant 100 palm trees. People kept bringing and bringing and bringing trees and we just lost count!” says organizer Migena Dushaj. In the end, it was over 100. What a […]
Dive Against Debris in Bocas del Toro
There is something magical about diving into the ocean. Your eyes are filled with blue wonder, feeling so light, refreshing your thoughts and renewing energies. The ocean is the reason why many of us live in Bocas del Toro; be it for surfing, diving, or simply floating around in the water. Having your daily encounter […]
BOCAS MARICULTURE – Revolutionizing the World of Marine Aquariums with Innovation and Sustainability
BOCAS MARICULTURE Revolutionizing the World of Marine Aquariums with Innovation and Sustainability Español abajo by Daniela Martínez Bocas Mariculture owner-biologist Till Deuss, has been working passionately and patiently in Bocas del Toro for 9 years creating new technologies in the mariculture world alongside navigating the challenging waters of bringing his life’s work to fruition in […]
The Bocas Dolphin: Acoustic Alarm in Dolphin Bay
photo (above) credit James Grant Laura May-Collado, PhD, is the Bocas Dolphin Project Director. She is an integrative marine biologist with a research focus on sound as a tool to study marine communities and marine mammal communication and behavior. She has been researching whales and dolphins in Costa Rica and Panama for two decades and her […]
El Club Rotario de Bocas del Toro en Acción
May 20th marked the first clean-up for El Club Rotario de Bocas del Toro at Playa Ismito. This is the beginning of regular clean-ups with the club. This one took a different spin on picking up trash and was a race! The teams were created: Blue Hornets, El Rejunte, El Kínder, Las Chinguenguenchas. They all weighed […]
Pargo Point Project
San Cristobal fishing village Valle Escondido is in an overfished area and therefore has not provided sustenance to the village for some time. In an effort to recreate a sustainable fish population in the waters near the Valle Escondido community, Coral Restoration Panama, in partnership with Floating Doctors Medical Center, hosted a hands-on educational event […]