A Caribbean reef shark circles a baited camera station (PHOTOS: ANDY MANN)
Global study points to nation’s long history of forward-thinking as key to remaining one of the few places in the world where shark populations are stable
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Global FinPrint, the largest ever shark population survey of its kind, has commended The Bahamas as a “world-leader” in shark conservation efforts.
Shark species around the world have suffered large declines for decades due to overfishing and other human pressures, with reef sharks particularly impacted because of their habitat’s proximity to large human population centers.
Not so in The Bahamas, where populations of reef sharks and several other species have remained stable for decades due to the country’s long history of forward-thinking conservation policies, according to the researchers behind the major international study.
CEI: Sharks generate $114 mil. annually as ecotourism attraction
One month after Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard suggested that it is up for debate whether to continue the full protection of sharks in The Bahamas, or allow for commercial harvesting on a temporary basis, The Bahamas is being praised in international circles for having the healthiest shark population in the region, which brings $114 million into the country annually as an ecotourism attraction.
A press statement, released by the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI), The Moore Charitable Foundation and Global FinPrint at Florida International University, explained that one of CEI’s studies determined that much of that $114 million is injected into “economically depressed areas like the Family Islands”, by ecotourists.