The marine conservation
leadership of The Bahamas, which created a shark sanctuary throughout
the country 4 years ago, has attracted a delegation of United Nations
ambassadors from 10 countries to Cape Eleuthera to learn from research
scientists the latest discoveries in shark ecology. The United Nations
Shark Sanctuary Coalition gathered together under the chairmanship of
His Excellency Ambassador to the UN Dr. Elliston Rahming to learn about
the behaviour and life cycle patterns of deep-ocean sharks, bull sharks,
reef sharks, and stingrays and the effects of long-line fishing and the
implications that the research going on at Cape Eleuthera Institute has for shark conservation on policy making.
Montel
Williams, the former US naval officer and television personality
supported and attended the gathering as the special envoy to the UN
Shark Sanctuary Coalition, along with several other shark conservation
enthusiasts, dive experts, environmental organizations and government
leaders. "We are meant to act as stewards" Williams opened the
gathering, "and today is an auspicious day in history. What we are doing
here today is getting people excited about protecting the oceans. Our
children have a right to see and appreciate the oceans the way they are
now. But they won't see the oceans the way they are now, if we keep
treating the oceans they way we have been. The problems we face aren't
30, 40, 50 years down the road; they are here today. And there are
solutions available to us right now, today."
Not only was there an emotional appeal to get involved, Mr. Williams also shared an economic rationale: "A
shark alive in the ocean is worth a million dollars more than a dead
shark" said Mr. Williams, acknowledging that tourists pay specifically
to come here and appreciate these animals alive in their ocean habitat
over and over again.
The representatives attending from
Dominica,
Grenada, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia,
Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines responded to Mr. Williams'
call to action.
"We need more
awareness about what is going on in the ocean because our economies
depend on it" shared Ambassador H.E. Menissa Rambally, the
representative from Saint Lucia.
The
researchers shared their perspective on how to create that awareness
and sense of stewardship. "The ocean habitat deeper than 200 metres
below the surface is the single largest ecosystem on the planet" said
Dr. Edd Brooks, senior shark research scientist at Cape Eleuthera
Institute, "and we know so very little about what is happening there
where it's dark, cold, nutrient-poor, and the life cycle of sharks is
poorly described. This is what drives our research efforts and that of
our graduate students, who support The Island School research projects.
We are creating new knowledge together with young people."
The delegates were able to see first-hand the environment and animals they are charged with understanding and protecting.
Over
the past ten years Dr. Brooks, in collaboration with Pew Charitable
Trusts, Save our Seas Foundation, and leading private philanthropists,
has captured a pioneering glimpse of the life of the top ocean
predators. "From some of the first long term satellite-tracking data
we've collected in this hemisphere on shark behaviour, there are some
important regional-scale implications for conservation that we have
shared with the United Nations Shark Council who are charged with
advancing worldwide efforts to protect them." Continuing research led by
Cape Eleuthera Institute on the economic value of live sharks to the
Bahamian economy from dive tourism promises to more deeply understand
the impact of shark conservation policies.
"Our nations are not small-island states, they are big-ocean states" said
Eric Carey, director of the Bahamas National Trust, which has been at
the forefront of Bahamian marine and land conservation for decades.
"There are considerable conservation opportunities if we are working together, within the country and at a regional scale. Efforts
like these, including the existing prohibition on the commercial
harvest or trade and use of any shark fins or parts within the The
Bahamas, ensure that that sharks can continue to thrive for generations
in our waters, one of the world's best places to see sharks."