New socio-economic study on the value of sharks in The Bahamas (paper here). The paper Abstract summarizes the findings well:
Elasmobranch populations in The Bahamas offer a unique juxtaposition to the widespread decline of many species around the world, largely due to management and conservation initiatives implemented over the last 25 years. Several industries have been built around the diverse […]
On July 1st, 2016, the nation of Antigua and Barbuda started its ban of single use plastic grocery bags. They join a movement to ban or tax single use plastic bags that involves many countries, states, and municipalities including much of Hawaii, Los Angeles, Chicago, the Netherlands, Italy, China, and others. Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to this issue sets an example that even smaller […]
Abaco Scientist was finally able to get a full copy of the proposed Little Harbour marina EIA – full pdf here. We are not as much concerned with what is in the actual document, but more so what isn’t. Most concerning is that Winding Bay staff outlined a radically different plan (including a much larger marina, R/O plant, 24 hour generator, […]
This paper uses Sandals Emerald Bay as an example of recycling challenges in The Bahamas. It is quite lengthy, but very readable.
NCSU graduate student headed up this summary document from the 66th annual meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute. Lots of information, from ciguatera to the economics of the fishery.
I have been asked by a number of people to comment on the Treasure Sands dredging project near Treasure Cay. The following thoughts are based on my observations and experience in similar systems.
Please note that my knowledge/expertise pertains to the ecology and biology of the existing dredged channel and the future dredging plans. I understand that much of the controversy […]
Our lab has just published a new paper on dock piling “fouling” communities. In coastal ecosystems, one of the most important services that we value are the ability of filter feeding organisms (oysters, mussels, sponges, barnacles, etc.) to improve water quality. By removing particles from the water, and depositing them in the form of excretion on the ocean bottom, […]
Figure 1. Growth of Strombus pugilis, and measures of size and maturity used in this study. (g) is an example of a large mature animal from contemporary populations, while (h) is one of the larger animals from Prehuman populations, exemplifying the shift in size due to human […]