From the week ending May 2, 1997
Topic Essay: Recreation, Resorts, and Reefs
Charlotte De Fontaubert - SFS Faculty Member
At the SFS Center, we have learned that marine habitats such as coral reefs are
fragile. Here on South Caicos Island, there are three main sources of coral reef
damage and marine pollution—the fishing industry, dive tourism, and land
activities. These sources are putting more and more pressure on the marine
environment. Damage to the reefs are being caused by boats, divers, and
sometimes from pollution that originates on ships. Most marine pollution,
however, originates on land. As a result, rules and regulations are needed to
protect the oceans from pollution and destruction.
One of the most innovative ways to protect reefs and the marine environment is
to declare an area to be a "marine protected area" (MPA), or marine park. The
aim of a MPA is to make sure that the ecosystems within it are protected by
restriction and regulation of human activities. The government of the Turks and
Caicos Islands created a MPA when they formed the Admiral Cockburn Land
and Sea Reserve, a coral reef area next to the SFS Center. At this MPA,
dynamite fishing and using bleach to catch lobsters are prohibited.
Unfortunately, all the restrictions are not always respected.
Sometimes, the problem is only one of communication, as the fishermen do not
always know that they are in a marine park and that they should not use these
techniques. To solve this problem, SFS plans to prepare large signs to be
posted at the entrance of the MPA explaining to fishermen what they may and
may not do in the area. Since a lot of the fishermen come from Haiti and do not
speak English, SFS intends to make signs in French as well. Simple
communication projects such as this one can lead to greater protection of an
MPA while continuing to support the local economy.
Research Update: East Bay
Cassandra L. Cummings - DePauw University
The past few weeks have been filled with each directed research group trying
to get out into the field as much as possible to collect their last pieces of data.
On Wednesday, April 30th, we will turn in final papers summarizing the work
we have done all semester on our projects. As you can imagine, this is a huge
undertaking. Some groups have produced papers as long as 70 pages. That’s a
lot of writing!
My directed research project at East Bay examined a local ecosystem. We
performed many surveys on the marine organisms and terrestrial vegetation,
and we spoke to local people about the ways in which they use East Bay. In
addition, we contacted the local government about their stance on the
protection of East Bay.
We found that the government plans to build hotels and resorts at East Bay in
order to encourage the tourist industry. These plans have the potential to
damage the natural ecosystem of East Bay, because some of them propose
such things as dredging the bay or blasting away parts of the reef to allow for
the increase in boat traffic. They could also impact the existence of the coral
reefs, which is why many people visit South Caicos to begin with.
We found that East Bay is a very important ecosystem that needs to be
protected for the future. One way to do this successfully is to evaluate the
various uses and levels of activities that presently occur as well as the ones that
may occur in the future.
www.sitesalive.com / Oceans Live
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