Left to Right -DeShawn McGregor (Environmental Specialist Baha Mar), Eddy Raphael (Conservation coordinator TNC), [Sitting]: Eleanor Phillips (Director TNC Bahamas), Shenique Smith (Sen. Policy Advisor TNC), Kendria Ferguson (Aquarist Baha Mar), [Sitting]: Mr. Robert Sands (Senior VP of Government & Ext. Affairs Baha Mar), Brad Busby (VP of Resort Operations Baha Mar), and Rishard Cooper (Staff Attorney Baha Mar)
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Baha Mar Ltd., has made a
generous donation to support The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Bahamas Coral Conservation
project which will be used to expand coral nurseries and restore reefs in waters
surrounding New Providence, Bahamas.
The Caribbean contains some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity,
harboring 10% of the world’s coral reefs, 1,400 species of fish and marine
mammals and mile after mile of mangrove forests. Caribbean lives and
livelihoods directly depend upon healthy marine and coastal resources. In the
past decade there has been significant loss of these important habitats. “In The Bahamas, significant declines in coral
cover have been documented with coral cover declining by more than 50% in the
last few decades”, says Shenique Smith, Senior Policy Advisor and Country Representative
for the Nature Conservancy in the Bahamas. To help restore the near shore marine
environment, The Nature Conservancy has established several staghorn
(Acropora cervicornis) in-water coral nurseries in New Providence and Andros.
The donation from Bahamar will allow TNC to expand its nurseries by establishing,
in waters near Bahamar, a new nursery which will house 1,000 fragments of the critically
endangered staghorn
(Acropora cervicornis) coral. The coral
fragments will be grown to a size
suitable for outplanting, a process that takes about 6-12 months and will then be
transplanted to a reef system near Bahamar, selected to support the corals, as
an ongoing restoration effort to repopulate the species. “Coral reefs provide essential
fish and invertebrate habitat, which in turn provides food for Bahamians.
Protection and restoration of Bahamian reefs will help to conserve these
natural resources so valued by the Bahamian people”, said Eddy Raphael, manager
of the coral restoration project in The Bahamas.
The project will also include genetic
testing on parent coral colonies to help determine what role genetics plays in
coral survivorship, growth and tolerance of environmental stressors.
A part of
the initiative is to accelerate conservation action and funding and actively
engage the private sector and general public. “This new Conservancy collaboration
represents an innovative approach to combat critical habitat loss, increase
coastal protection, fisheries replenishment, and increase marine biodiversity
in The Bahamas” said Eleanor Phillips, Director of the Nature
Conservancy’s Bahamas Program. “The Nature Conservancy sincerely appreciates
support from Baha Mar for expanding our coral nurseries in The Bahamas and we
are very excited to be working with Baha Mar Ltd. on this important project”.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading
conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and
waters on which all life depends. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million
members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature
Conservancy on the Web at
www.nature.org
. Follow The Nature
Conservancy in The Bahamas on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/CaribbeanTNC.
