Dear Editor,
The controversy over the planned logistics hub for Goat Islands has been raging for several weeks now. It is said that part of the plan is the levelling of Goat Islands, which is actually the fusing of what used to be Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island. There have been many useful comments on the pros and cons of the construction of the planned hub. This contribution is by a marine scientist who is one of perhaps a handful of persons who have actually worked in the mud and mangroves of this area, collecting information on the fishable resources of the bay for the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation.
The controversy over the planned logistics hub for Goat Islands has been raging for several weeks now. It is said that part of the plan is the levelling of Goat Islands, which is actually the fusing of what used to be Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island. There have been many useful comments on the pros and cons of the construction of the planned hub. This contribution is by a marine scientist who is one of perhaps a handful of persons who have actually worked in the mud and mangroves of this area, collecting information on the fishable resources of the bay for the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation.
The Goat Islands presently form the western border of a protected area, which is one of the first 10 fish sanctuaries (now called Specially Protected Fisheries Areas) which were declared in 2010 by the Jamaican Government's Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries. The main reason that this area (a zone from Cabarita Point to Salt Island Creek called Galleon Harbour Fish Sanctuary) was chosen for protection was that, of all the various areas examined in the giant bay itself, it yielded the most diverse results in terms of types of fishes and other marine creatures. In other words, of all the parts of the larger bay it was the most important.
The dominant type of habitat there is a red mangrove and seagrass complex, which functions as a critical habitat for the young stages of many types of commercial fishes, as well as other species such as lobsters and conch. Critical marine habitats are those in which species, like those making up fishable resources, must inhabit for period of time in order to complete one or more stages of their biological life cycle. The Goat Islands and Galleon Harbour are two such areas identified as far back as 1998 and accepted as critical habitats in the long and careful process leading up to the declaration of this (and two other areas in the bay) as a fish sanctuary.
The area surrounding the Salt Island Creek mangrove complex is another critical area for one type of oyster. Studies done there by this writer show a strong nursery function and the presence of many commercial species among the 40 fish species counted. Studies showed that marine life in this area is probably dependent on nutrients brought into the eastern edge of Old Harbour Bay by the Salt Island Creek. To have this ecologically sensitive area interfered with in a major fashion would do serious and possibly irreparable harm to the living resources, both animal and plant. It is strongly recommended that it should remain undisturbed as much as possible.
If the planned hub is built in the fashion mentioned in the media, the negative fallout for the largest fisher population in our country, based at Old Harbour Bay fishing beach, where fully 33% of the island's fishable products are landed, is likely to be significant and long term. I urge the authorities to carefully weigh the costs and benefits, biological as well as economic and social, of their planned action and continue to protect this area. Build a suitable hub if we have to, but please do not build it there.
Dr Karl Aiken
Department of Life Sciences, UWI, Mona
Hub: To be or not to be?
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The controversy over the planned logistics hub for Goat Islands has been raging for several weeks now. It is said that part of the plan is the levelling of Goat Islands, which is actually the fusing of what used to be Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island. There have been many useful comments on the pros and cons of the construction of the planned hub. This contribution is by a marine scientist who is one of perhaps a handful of persons who have actually worked in the mud and mangroves of this area, collecting information on the fishable resources of the bay for the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation.
The controversy over the planned logistics hub for Goat Islands has been raging for several weeks now. It is said that part of the plan is the levelling of Goat Islands, which is actually the fusing of what used to be Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island. There have been many useful comments on the pros and cons of the construction of the planned hub. This contribution is by a marine scientist who is one of perhaps a handful of persons who have actually worked in the mud and mangroves of this area, collecting information on the fishable resources of the bay for the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation.
The Goat Islands presently form the western border of a protected area, which is one of the first 10 fish sanctuaries (now called Specially Protected Fisheries Areas) which were declared in 2010 by the Jamaican Government's Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries. The main reason that this area (a zone from Cabarita Point to Salt Island Creek called Galleon Harbour Fish Sanctuary) was chosen for protection was that, of all the various areas examined in the giant bay itself, it yielded the most diverse results in terms of types of fishes and other marine creatures. In other words, of all the parts of the larger bay it was the most important.
The dominant type of habitat there is a red mangrove and seagrass complex, which functions as a critical habitat for the young stages of many types of commercial fishes, as well as other species such as lobsters and conch. Critical marine habitats are those in which species, like those making up fishable resources, must inhabit for period of time in order to complete one or more stages of their biological life cycle. The Goat Islands and Galleon Harbour are two such areas identified as far back as 1998 and accepted as critical habitats in the long and careful process leading up to the declaration of this (and two other areas in the bay) as a fish sanctuary.
The area surrounding the Salt Island Creek mangrove complex is another critical area for one type of oyster. Studies done there by this writer show a strong nursery function and the presence of many commercial species among the 40 fish species counted. Studies showed that marine life in this area is probably dependent on nutrients brought into the eastern edge of Old Harbour Bay by the Salt Island Creek. To have this ecologically sensitive area interfered with in a major fashion would do serious and possibly irreparable harm to the living resources, both animal and plant. It is strongly recommended that it should remain undisturbed as much as possible.
If the planned hub is built in the fashion mentioned in the media, the negative fallout for the largest fisher population in our country, based at Old Harbour Bay fishing beach, where fully 33% of the island's fishable products are landed, is likely to be significant and long term. I urge the authorities to carefully weigh the costs and benefits, biological as well as economic and social, of their planned action and continue to protect this area. Build a suitable hub if we have to, but please do not build it there.
Dr Karl Aiken
Department of Life Sciences, UWI, Mona
Hub: To be or not to be?
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