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K ey West, Florida and New Plymouth , Green Turtle Cay (located in the Bahamas ) are Sister Cities. Green Turtle Cay is part of a chain of Cays that are located off of the eastern side of Great Abaco Island, in the north eastern most part of the Bahamas. Between the Cays and Great Abaco is the Sea of Abaco. To the east of these coral rimmed Cays is the Sargassum Sea which continually washes in clean, clear nutrient free waters to the coral reefs, perpetuating healthy coral growth. From the northern tip of Great Abacos a shallow body of water stretches west-ward all the way to the West End of Grand Bahama Island , similar to Hawks Channel in the Florida Keys. However (just like the Florida Keys), tourist and private developments in the Cays are lacking in the best available technology to treat sewage. This in combination with agricultural and storm water runoff from the developed mainland of Great Abaco could be influencing the health of the coral reefs that abound in this area.
The town of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay is slated to be the first designated historical district in the Bahamas. Being there is like going back in time to Key West 70 years ago. This is where many of the ‘Conchs’ (Key West Natives) originated from, with Key West names like Pinder, Russell, Sawyer, Roberts and Bethel etc. It seems that every one of the 500 permanent residents of Green Turtle has a relative in Key West and a fond affection for the historical connection between the two islands.
It seemed a natural for Reef Relief to assist our sister island in the installation of mooring buoys for their coral reefs as well as help in the development of an environmental education program for the schools and communities. DeeVon Quirolo made presentations to all of the children attending school on Green Turtle Cay and she hopes to extend her presentations to all of the schools on Great Abaco.
A community workshop was arranged to discuss coral reef mooring buoys and to address the problems associated with water quality and nutrient overloading. This workshop was very well attended and we are looking forward to sharing our photo monitoring images and video recordings of their reefs with them at future presentations.
The Green Turtle Foundation which is comprised of members from all walks of life expressed interest in having their coral reefs protected by mooring buoys and made a substanital financial commitment toward the project. A match was made from from the Munson Foundation and Linda Odum as well as Cottages owned by Dr. and Mrs. Brian LaPointe, Ross Sawyer, Mandy and Dale Roberts and a host of other community participants who made major in kind contributions toward the project. Brindle’s Dive Shop graciously provided us with a work boat for the entire project, and volunteer divers Willy Rick and David Farrington was an invaluable asset in the water.
Tweleve moorings were installed and another six are slated to be hooked up before winter . The coral reefs in the Abacos are very similar to the reefs in the Florida Keys, except that their water is gin clear and there is an abundance of healthy coral. However, some of the coral reefs were covered in Macroalgae and a small amount of stress was exhibited by varous species of coral.
On the eastern side of the cays the outer reef is about a mile offshore and grows within inches of the surface. We actually saw sea fans and Elkhorn coral exposed at low tide! On the inside of the reef a myriad of smaller patch reefs create a navigator’s worst nightmare. Smaller boats no larger than 20' transit the area using great caution. The mooring buoys were placed on the inner reefs and had to be located so that they could be approached without running aground. The buoys that were placed on the inside of the outer reef are accessible to larger boats that have ‘ local knowledge’. These were some of the most beautiful reefs that I have ever dove on.
We are encouraging people who use the buoys not to harvest any sea life in an effort to establish voluntary compliance for these areas as No Take Zones. There are many reefs not protected by buoys where a boat can anchor in the sand if its occupants want to spear fish or take conchs. It would be nice to create a series of No Take Zones without the need of law enforcement. It is possible with proper education and the Bahamas seems to heading in that direction.
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| Dale Roberts, local resident and commercial lobster fisherman from Green Turtle Cay, joined the volunteer dive team that installed buoys. |
