Environmental resource management has traditionally focused on the biophysical aspects of conservation, through restrictive access and a ‘preservation’ mentality. This perspective perhaps goes some way towards explaining why only 6% of the Marine Protected Areas designated in the Caribbean can be classed as ‘successful’. The purpose of this project was to undertake a socioeconomic audit before proposals are developed for marine conservation and sustainable livelihood enhancement in Helene in the Bay Islands, Roatan, Honduras.