As the only mangrove habitat on the western Great Bahama Bank, Bimini serves as critically important nursery habitat for everything from conch & lobster, to snapper and sharks. Flushed daily by the warm, rich waters of the Gulf Stream, Bimini's marine habitats are some of the most important, and the most studied in all of the Bahamas.
Bimini's North Sound lagoon, the site of a mega-resort development, is perhaps the most studied marine nursery in the world. Over 20 years of scientific research has taken place in this one area of Bimini, and every study has consistently proven what a viable and important eco-system it is.
Recognizing the ecological & economic value of preserving the island's marine life, the Government of the Bahamas declared Bimini the highest-priority site in the Bahamas for a proposed Marine Protected Area in the year 2000. This proposed MPA is supported by local Biminites, concerned tourists, and the scientific community. Preservation & prosperity do not have to exist in spite of each other, and this MPA would compliment both goals.
Today, developers are spreading false & inaccurate information about the eco-systems of Bimini and the effects that their project will have on the future of the island's ecology. The Save Bimini Association has been joined by scores of scientists to help show the truth.
( Below is a partial list of proven facts about Bimini's unique ecology: )
1. Bimini is home to a variety of Protected, Threatened & Endangered Species including, but not limted to, Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus), Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata), Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), Kirtland's Warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii), Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta), Great Hammerhead Sharks (Sphyrna mokarran), and the endemic Bimini Boa (Epicrates striatus fosteri). 1, 2
2. The Bahamas is a signatory of a number of international agreements, which are either directly or indirectly incongruent with the decision to allow North Bimini's mega-development, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Law of the Sea, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, the RAMSAR Convention, and the Caribbean Community and Common Market Treaty(CARICOM).
3. Mangroves have numerous functions. These include acting as a barrier against coastal erosion (Alongi, 2002), helping with nutrient cycling and climate regulation (Hogarth, 1999), providing a substrate for a range of primary producers and consumers (Kieckbusch et al., 2004) and serving as breeding sites for birds, reptiles and mammals (Alongi, 2002). The mangroves & seagrass of Bimini's North Sound lagoon provide habitat for over 100 species of fish and invertebrates. 3 Bimini provides the only mangrove habitat on the western Great Bahama Bank.
4. Average species density in the mangroves of Bimini is 19 times that of the neighboring sea-grass beds. 3
5. 90% of snapper and 83% of grunts, both commercially important species around Bimini, use mangroves rather than seagrass as nursery habitat. 3
6. Species density, abundance & biomass are all significantly higher in the mangroves of Bimini than in the seagrass. 3
7. In regards to sea-grass and mangroves, the two habitats appear to have a complimentary relationship in their roles as nurseries, as although mangroves offer more shelter from predators, seagrass beds possess greater food abundance for fish (Nagelkerken and van der Velde, 2004).
8. Bimini's dominant sea grass (Thalassia testudinum), provides food and habitat for Queen Conch (Strombus gigas), Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus), and Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas). Since 2003, sea grass beds nearest the development on North Bimini have decreased by over 46%, and the sea grass coverage in the whole North Sound has decrease almost 20%. 4
9. In other areas of the Bahamas where mangrove nurseries have been removed, a significant loss of near-shore reef habitats near developed sites was also found (Sealey, 2004), and given the scale of the Bimini Bay Resort development and its close proximity to many of Bimini's reefs, a similar effect would be expected to be seen there in future.
10. Mangroves enhance the biomass of coral reef fish communities in the Caribbean. 5
Reference List:
1 www.iucnredlist.org
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimini
3. Newman, S.P. and Gruber, S.H. 2002. Comparisons of Mangrove & Seagrass Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities in Bimini. Bahamas Journal of Science Vol. 9, No. 2.
4. Jennings, D. The Ecological Effects of the Bimini Bay Resort Development on the Juvenile Lemon Shark Population of Bimini, Bahamas. Master's Thesis, Roehampton University, UK.
5. Mumby, P. et al. Mangroves enhance the biomass of coral reef fish communities in the Caribbean. Nature. 2004 Feb 5;427(6974):533-6