“Bimini’s mangrove estuary serves as a fish nursery for thousands of square miles of sea bottom. It is a special place both biologically and historically, and it needs international help if it is to survive.”
– Gail Woon, Executive Director, EARTHCARE, The Bahamas

“Construction has begun on the first phase of a mega-resort (condos, casino, golf course) that, if allowed to proceed unchecked, will consume the mangroves, together with all of the animals and plants that live there. Bimini’s shark population -- which has been studied for 20 years -- would be gone.”
-- Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director, Pew Institute for Ocean Science

Protect Mangroves and Shark Habitat / The Bahamas - Victory

VIDEO - Sharks: Who Is Really in Danger?
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If we didn’t know it before, last year’s devastating tsunami in South and Southeast Asia taught us that mangrove forests provide the best protection for life and property when hurricanes and tidal waves strike. While Indonesia plans to spend nearly $44 million for mangrove restoration along its wave-swept shores, people in the hurricane-prone Bahamas are stunned by a recent government decision to permit a developer to destroy Bimini island’s protective mangrove ecosystem and replace it with a tourist resort.

The Bimini Bay Resort & Casino complex has already destroyed large areas of Bimini’s pristine habitats on land and sea, and in the wonderful in-between mangrove forests. Declining populations of conch, lobster and shark have been reported.

If the resort complex is allowed to proceed to Phases II and III, its marinas, condos and golf course would replace one of the most important marine nursery habitats: Bimini’s North Sound lagoon. The North Sound nursery supplies large areas of the Bahamas with fish, lobster and conch. It is also the site of a marine research station where scientists have been studying sharks for 20 years – a remarkable and rare opportunity to track individual sharks over time and learn about their life cycle and interaction with the mangrove ecosystem.

Located just 50 miles east of Florida, Bimini’s mangrove lagoons and seagrass beds are among the most productive marine ecosystems. They provide nursery and feeding grounds for many coral reef fishes and commercially important fish, as well as nesting areas for Loggerhead Turtles and the endangered Hawksbill Turtle. Renowned for big game fishing and diving, Bimini is one of the world’s best places to see wild Bottlenose Dolphins and Atlantic Spotted Dolphins.

Recognizing the importance of protecting this biologically and economically critical resource, the Bahamian government drew up plans for the Bimini Marine Protected Area, the first of five such areas proposed for the Bahamas. But before the conservation plan went into effect, Miami-based developer Gerardo Capo closed a deal to construct his mega-resort complex. The government’s inadequate environmental regulations do not prevent Mr. Capo from dredging and destroying the sea bottom, bulldozing the mangroves, carving up and filling in the land. Concerned citizens say there is no adequate plan for disposing of solid waste and sewage from the enormous complex. They also fear that fertilizer runoff from the proposed golf course will contaminate the remaining natural areas.

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