Happy World Wetlands Day!
The Wetlands of the Bahamas are beautiful, productive and tied to our history, economy, livelihoods and culture.
Our very name, “The Bahamas” comes from the Spanish “baja mar” or shallow sea. Those shallow waters make our country prime fishing grounds for Bonefish (Albula spp.), Conch (Lobatus gigas) and Lobster (Panulirus argus).
The Bahamas is called the Bonefishing capital of the world and visiting anglers contribute to multi million dollar industries on Abaco and Andros. The Bahamian conch populations on the Cay Sal Bank have been identified by researchers as some of the most abundant in the Caribbean. Our Bahamian lobster fishery supports some 9000 fishermen and generates around 80 million dollars in exports to Europe and the United States of America.
Bonefish, conch and lobster require shallow water and wetland habitats on the Great Bahama Bank and Cay Sal Bank for their adult lives, but they are at risk as oil exploration in the Bahamas increases the risk of an oil spill in our waters.
BPC’s Perseverance 1 oil well is a mere 30 km from the Great Bahama Bank less than 50 km from the Cay Sal Bank and about 150 km from the Andros creek systems. For perspective, the Deepwater horizon oil spill reached Florida coastlines over 200km away. Remember the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster coated more than 2000 km of coastline alone, more than ten times the length of Andros. Ultimately oil from that spill affected more than 112,146.49 square km of water, more than half the area of all the Bahamas territorial waters. Our wetlands are at risk.
Oil pollution has been connected to high toxicity at larval stages for invertebrates especially mollusks and can affect settling rates for years after a spill. In the shallow waters and wetlands of the Bahamas, oil spills could destroy fishing families and communities. The Marine Stewardship Council recently certified the Bahamas’ Spiny Lobster Fishery and global markets look for the seal of sustainability to identify our fisheries products as sustainable. What happens if the fishing grounds are polluted?
You can support us by signing our petition to stop oil exploration in the Bahamas, to protect our wetlands, our oceans, our fisheries, our families Our Islands, Our future.