We spoke with Paola Gómez, a biologist at the Cayos Cochinos Foundation, who tells us about all the actions that are carried out alongside the production of the reality show.
On Isla Menor (Honduras), a few meters from the pier and the heliport where you can access the island, is the Cayos Cochinos Foundation. Right next door is where all the teams from ‘Survivors’ and the Italian version are carrying out reality shows, but these programs could not exist in that area without the foundation and vice versa. Therefore, we have been chatting with Paola Gómez, a biologist who works there to give us all the details of this work in a group.
Since 1993, the Cayos Cochinos area has been considered a protected area, as it is located in the middle of the Caribbean, has 2 islands and 13 keys, and has 110 species of corals, 150 species of fish such as lionfish; boas, iguanas and countless birds. To protect it, take care of it and inform everyone who arrives about how they should behave, 30 people work at the foundation in addition to a group of volunteers (in 2023 there were 42).
Currently, what is most focused on is monitoring monitoring diseases that can alter corals, such as the loss of tissue that is affecting 22 species throughout the Caribbean. “An antibiotic is applied to help them. It can kill in a month a colony that has taken years to form,” explains Gómez. They also mark the turtles that lay their eggs there.. Volunteers patrol every night, measuring them to see if the turtles are growing, because it is seen that they are not growing as much as before, because the large ones are more in danger from pollution.
Cayos Cochinos Foundation sign at the entrance
It turns out that the Cayos Cochinos are close to the mainland, so pollution comes from there, the waste reaches the keys and affects the health of the reefs. “Where the most garbage comes from is the Cangrejal River,” explains the biologist, who is developing Together with your team, classify waste to see which companies create the most impact. And not only that, but they also take into account fertilizers, pesticides, untreated wastewater… “The Honduran government has been negligent in caring for the protected areas,” laments Gómez, who still does not give up: “Present this data to authorities that can take action to mitigate this damage.”
The rules that must be met in the Keys
When you arrive at Cayos Cochinos, whether you are a tourist, part of the reality TV team or even a contestant, From the Foundation they give you a brief talk in which they tell you a series of rules that must be followed so that the footprint left by humans is as invisible as possible for the ecosystem, such as not touching reefs, not consuming endangered species and respecting local culture.
It is also explained, especially to the contestants, what species they can catch and which ones are not, such as snails, sharks, small lobsters or hedgehogs. In fact, in ‘Survivors 2024’ they caught hedgehogs, the foundation saw it and the production company had to pay a fine. “I understand that they are hungry, but we cannot be flexible,” says Paola Gómez, who, in turn, explains that “if the contestants have questions, they pass them on to the beach inspectors, and they pass them on to the foundation.”
The benefits: where do they get the money from?
In order to carry out all the actions, the foundation needs an economic endowment. They tell us that money comes in three ways, but that the main one is the arrival of reality shows. In other words, If these programs were not recorded there, there would be no possibility for the foundation to carry out all its research and care.. For its part, the other two sources of income, to a much lesser extent, are the tourist tax and the international cooperation of various organizations.
Cayos Cochinos Foundation Laboratory
From this income they receive, the foundation divides the budget in this way. 33.3% is for the maintenance of the facilities, which includes the laboratory; another 33.3%, for community development projects; and the other 33.3%, for the protection program (patrol through the Keys, boat, driving, food…).
The good thing about ‘Survivors’ being done there
Beyond the economic rate, the fact that reality shows like ‘Survivientes’ or ‘L’isola del famosi’ gives many other benefits to the Cayos Cochinos. For 6 months a year, they provide work to the area and all the labor is local. Of the islands’ approximately 700 inhabitants, 100 start working on the programs. during these periods. “These are people who dedicate themselves to fishing as normal and stop fishing to do the reality show,” says Gómez, who adds that for all the workers, the reality show covers expenses, food… which, economically, contributes more than fishing. .
“I am surprised by all the logistics behind the program. When there is reality, the island has to take many things into account, because In the end there are people on land, on water in boats and in the air in helicopters.“comments Ana Gómez, more as a spectator than as a biologist, who also appreciates the enormous visibility that reality shows give to the Cayos Cochinos because “they promote tourism without leaving a trace.”
