The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas’ “reputation is on the chopping block” if it fails to immediately combat a new “pandemic” devastating the coral reefs relied upon by tourism and fisheries, activists warned yesterday.

Rashema Ingraham, executive director for Waterkeepers Bahamas, told Tribune Business that the country’s plans to develop the so-called “blue economy” will be endangered if it fails to deal with the stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) that is spreading rapidly across reefs in the northern Bahamas.

She added that, if left unchecked, the disease will ultimately undermine Bahamian culture, livelihoods and incomes given predictions that 90 percent of certain brain corals could be killed off by it.

With environmental activists previously producing studies showing that tourism, which relies heavily on the oceans and their ecosystems, and fisheries contribute $7.8bn annually combined to Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP), Ms Ingraham argued that the country can delay taking action no longer.

Besides “a decrease in fishing stocks” from the loss of food and breeding grounds on the coral reefs, she added that the “very lucrative” shark diving industry would also be hit given their importance as a nutrition source for these species.

“I think we’re out of time,” Ms Ingraham told this newspaper of a disease that was first detected in The Bahamas at the end of 2019, just after Hurricane Dorian. “Almost two years have gone by without doing the necessary work. We’re hearing from divers who go out every day that they’re seeing the effects of it.”

Grand Bahama and Abaco are two of the islands most impacted to-date, she added, while stony coral tissue loss disease has also been detected in Bimini, the Berry Islands and New Providence.

As to the ramifications, Ms Ingraham said: “We will be in a place where all of the work people have done on coral restoration will go down the drain, and we won’t even have the genetics from the species to manipulate it to save it.

“We’re an ocean nation. That’s really what we’re known for. We’re known for our waters, known for having the third largest barrier reef. A lot of our reputation is on the chopping block, our economies, our industries.

“Going back to what astronauts have said, when they think of one spot they can identify from space, the waters of The Bahamas really resonate. We have a reputation for what is underneath.”

Ms Ingraham, suggesting post-COVID economic reform plans could be in peril as a result of the disease’s spread, added: “The Prime Minister and other ministers are talking about moving towards a blue and green economy. We also have an orange economy, and our artists sing about coral, our life underneath.

“It’s going to take away from our culture. It’s in Bahamian culture to tell we have these ecosystems in our waters. We are also trying to move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and the green economy. This is really vital to us. We’re in position to be a change agent and stand out as showing how the blue and green economies can shift our situation.”

Joseph Darville, Waterkeepers Bahamas’ president, said the former Minnis administration had been warned two years ago about the threat to Bahamian coral reefs and associated ecosystems but had done little to nothing about it.

In a letter released yesterday, he wrote: “The Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS), a conservation non-governmental organisation (NGO) with an office in Nassau and staff on several Bahamian islands.... recommended the formation of a multi-agency task force to develop and implement an action plan specific to The Bahamas.

“For more than two years, the scientists and divers have been waiting for the green light to begin taking action but, unfortunately, their initiative has become mired in bureaucracy and red tape. Meanwhile, the disease spreads further with each passing day. It has now gained a foothold in San Salvador, Eleuthera, Long Island, the Berry Islands and maybe others.

“As the local environmental community never tires of saying, bureaucracy has no place in the fight to save our oceans, our resources and the tens of thousands of jobs that depend upon the blue economy in The Bahamas,” Mr Darville continued.

“As I write this, Florida is pumping millions of dollars into saving its reefs. Other countries in the region are taking action. Meanwhile, our politicians and civil servants continue to shuffle papers around without any end in sight. Lacking the necessary permits and approvals, the hands of the PIMS scientists are tied and have remained so for more than two years.”

Ms Ingraham yesterday suggested that the former administration may have been pre-occupied by COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian. She added: “This gives the Davis administration a real opportunity to see what needs to be addressed soon.

“It’s not just impacting coral reefs. It’s affecting Bahamian culture, it’s impacting Bahamian pockets in terms of livelihoods, and it’s affecting major industries in terms of tourism and financial services.”

Mr Darville added: “A national plan for saving our reefs has already been drawn up. We must urge the decision makers to stop delaying, stop dithering, stop wasting precious time, and let the qualified environmental scientists save our reefs, our livelihoods, before it’s too late.

“With stony coral tissue loss disease, as with the COVID pandemic, politicians need to get out of the way and let the experts take charge.”