Utilizing Wetlands, Protecting Marine Resources

The Government High SchoolEarth Day 2015

What is a Wetland?

“Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.“Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Uses Of Wetlands By The Environment• slow erosion• recharge groundwater• prevents flooding• act as buffers from storms• filter out pollutants and sediment• serve as eco-tourist attractions• provide habitats for many species of plants

and animals

Red Mangroves• Furthest off shore• Prop Roots• Used as a nursery habitat for organisms such as the

Spiny Lobster, Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper• Prop roots serve as hiding places for the larvae and

juveniles • Protects them from predation from other larger

animals• Provides safe haven for them to grow up and mature

Bahamas National Trust - “Abaco Creeks National Park Proposal”

“Compared to coral reefs, mangroves have a much lower number of large predators, and thus provide a safe haven for juveniles to mature. Without the protection of mangrove systems, many fish will be less likely to survive to the point where they can venture out to reefs to reproduce. The health of wetlands is critical to the health of other marine ecosystems. Studies in Mexico, Belize and other areas of the Caribbean demonstrate that there is a higher biomass of fish on reefs when that habitat is connected to mangroves” (Mumby et al., 2004).”

Identification Of Issue• the Bahamas does not utilize wetlands for the purposes

of food security and conservation of species. • The following issues surround the use of wetlands:

• Human influence on the wetland ecosystems in the Bahamas are mainly for the purposes of dumping, housing and hotel development, eco-tourism and recreation

• There are no laws that list mangrove forests as a protected species to ensure that wetlands are not to be tampered with for human development

• We are facing a decline in fish crops such as the spiny lobster, Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper

Identification Of Issue Cont.• The Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper are

categorized as an endangered species • No amendments to the laws regarding the harvesting

of the Nassau Grouper • The general public is unaware of the benefits of the

wetlands

Hypothesis• Our hypothesis for this study is that wetlands are

not being utilized for the purpose of food security and species protection.

Methodology• We intend to carry out our study as follows:

• Student poll to determine the human influence on the wetlands during an in-class discussion

• Research of laws and statistics surrounding wetlands, Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper using conservation status and law websites

• Interview with local fisherman of his experience with crawfish catches

• Survey to determine general knowledge of wetland usage, status of Spiny Lobster, Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper and interest of using wetlands for food security and conservation.

Student Poll• Done during class• We polled and identified four human uses of our

Bahamian wetlands:• Dumping• Construction/ Development• Eco-Tourism• Recreation (includes swimming, fishing and visiting

the area)

Case Study, Big Pond Park• Once served as a landfill (dumping)• Now a component of the environmental mitigation plan

for the New Providence Infrastructure Improvement Project to be transformed into a park to be used by the public. (Recreation)

Video Footage of Big Pond Park

Environmental Laws - WetlandsLaw Status

Acquisition of Land Act (1913) Article 27 – Compensation in respect of other land affected

Compensation does not include crown land and environmentally beneficial lands such as wetlands.

Coastal Protection Act (1968) Article 9 – Prohibitions of moving and excavating or removal of materials from seashore

Mangrove trees are not included as items not to be excavated from the seashore

Conservation and Protection of the Physical Landscape of the Bahamas (Declaration of Protected Trees) Order (2007)

Mangrove trees are not considered a protected species.

Environmental Laws – Marine OrganismsLaws Spiny Lobster Nassau Grouper Queen Conch

Catch Size A minimum catch size of 3 3/8 inches measured at the head or carapace or tail measuring 5 ½ inches

minimum legal size for a grouper which is 3 pounds

No person shall take, have in his possession or sell any conch the shell of which does not possess a well formed flaring lip.

Season Closed April 1 - 31 July **December 1 – February 28

Fishing Methods wooden slat traps not more than 3 feet in length, 2 feet in width and 2 feet in height with slats placed not less than 1 inch apart

None specified None specified

Other Restrictions The possession of egg-bearing female crawfish is prohibited as is the stripping or otherwise removing the eggs from the berried (egg-bearing) female.

None specified None specified

Conservation Status (2015) ICUN Red List: Data deficient IUCN Red List: EndangeredCITES:

IUCN Red List: not yet assessed

**CITES: listed in Appendix II.

**SPAW: listed in Annex III.

Interview Mr. Nicholas Pinder•Commercial

Fisherman•Specializing in Lobster and Scale Fish•Method of Interview: Facebook chat

Key Quotes From Interview

Question: In the past 9 years, have you noticed an increase or decrease in lobster catches or are they still the same?

“They fluctuate year to year. Down for a few, up for a few. Lately they have been down. Personally I think (it is) influenced by weather. (It) moves lobster in different areas

”

Key Quotes From Interview

Question: Do you stand to make a lot of money from lobster catches?

• “As long as we can harvest sustainably, then we should be able to make a lot a money. Biggest threat to us is Dominican poachers and the government not policing the waters”

Key Quotes From Interview

Question: Are the laws enough to protect the lobster population?

Not in the Bahamas. The season needs to be shortened. More and more lobster spawn (and) are egg berried in August and March. On the last trip, most females are full of eggs inside to be put on the fins. We need protected wetlands or artificial wetlands. And we need to look at the length of the season

Key Quotes From InterviewQuestion: Should we utilize wetlands as a means of

regenerating fish stocks such as lobsters, groupers and conchs? And do you have any other comments?

“Yes a great deal. And because of politics the wetlands are sold and destroyed and the lobster populations decrease. Wetlands are the nursery for juveniles, the safety. A man did a study in Long Island with floating rings with netting and rope tied to it and in 8 months he had thousands of specimens mainly lobster clinging to it for safety. This (study) will help but we need to protect the mangroves and wetlands. Personal greed or the politician is what is killing the Bahamas.”

School Survey

• Based on the research and data collected, we selected seven questions to be delivered to a population of 160 students and teachers at the Government High School.

38%

11%22%

28%

What is the number one use of wetlands (mangrove swamps) by

humans in the Bahamas?Dumping Construction/HousingEco-Tourism Recreation

Yes

No

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

121

35

Do you support the idea of using wetlands as a means to grow fish

crops?

Yes

No

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

80

79

Did you know that crawfish is our main product of export and a

multi-million dollar industry?

Yes

No

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

112

49

Were you aware that the Queen Conch and Nassau Grouper are

endangered species?

Yes

No

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

112

50

Will you be willing to eat other marine organisms besides the

Nassau Grouper and Queen Conch?

Yes

No

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

141

22

Should we as Bahamians try to preserve wetlands to build populations of Nassau Grouper, Queen Conch and Crawfish?

Environmental Law Analysis• Drawing reference to the laws governing wetlands, we

suggest the following:• Introduce penalties such as fines to individuals that alter the

health of beneficial wetlands areas by dumping or deforestation. The worth of the wetland should be determined by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

• Include wetlands as items not to be excavated from the sea shore in coastal ecosystems deemed beneficial for the ecosystem. The worth of the wetland should be determined by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

• Include coastal wetland trees close to coral reefs and sea grass beds in a Marine Protected Area (MPA)

Environmental Law Analysis• Based on the laws governing the marine organisms, we

suggest the following:• Establish a closed season for the Queen Conch• Shorten the open season for the Spiny Lobster• Introduce specific fishing and harvesting methods for the Queen

Conch and Nassau Grouper• Restrictions should be placed on the number of harvested

conchs and groupers during the open season• Continue to minimize the export of the Queen Conch and

Nassau Grouper.

Conclusion• Answer to hypothesis: Based on our results, wetlands

are not being utilized for the purposes of food security and species protection.

Conclusion continued• Based on our research and interview along with the

survey, we have come up with the following conclusions:• Wetlands are ill used and are becoming damaged due to human

activities• All three fish crops are in danger of being over fished• Laws in place are not enough to protect the species without proper

monitoring and enforcement• Wetlands are proven beneficial for boosting the population of fish

crops• Generally, the public knows about the danger of depleting our marine

resources and willing to support efforts to conserve these three organisms

• In our survey, we offered six ways to help to protect our wetlands and marine resources:

Clean-ups43%

Planting mangrove trees3%

Making na-tional parks/

protected areas for

mangroves23%

Naming mangrove trees as a protected species

2%

Making stricter laws

to protect marine an-imals (sea-sons, catch sizes etc.)

14%

Educating the public about the

importance of wetlands

14%

  What is the best way to protect our wet-lands and marine resources?

Our Action Plan• Hold town meetings, forums and PSA announcements to the

general public about the usage of wetlands by juvenile species and the importance of maintaining a pristine environment for them to boost their populations

• Host cleanup efforts in areas of intense dumping (both inland and coastal wetland forests)

• Incorporate more wetland areas within MPA’s• Introduce amendments to laws suggested for wetlands, the Nassau

Grouper, Spiny Lobster and Conch• Conduct research of coastal wetlands and impact on their

environment• Grow seedlings to transplant to reforest red mangroves forest in

areas that show promise of benefiting greatly by the wetlands (i.e. Bimini) – 15-30 year period

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