Intricate coral reefs, colourful marine life and the clearest warm turquoise waters continue to attract diving enthusiasts from around the world to The Bahamas. However, without the efforts of marine conservation, visitors expecting to encounter an enchanting, healthy, underwater world may find something entirely different.
What lies beneath
According to BREEF (The Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation), reefs cover 0.2 per cent of the world's oceans, but they house approximately a third of all marine fish species and thousands of other ocean-dwelling species.
The third largest barrier reef in the world is located in The Bahamas, at Andros, and plays a major role in the overall ecosystem of the Bahama islands. Coral reefs accommodate species such as snapper and grouper, two staples of the Bahamian diet. Reefs are also key in protecting the islands from hurricane damage as they break the wave energy from storms.
In The Nassau Guardian, May 21, 2003, Sir Nicholas Nuttall, BREEF founder and chairman, notes the overall importance of marine conservation.
"In times past the reefs protected us from storms, nourished us with food and produced our sandy beaches, which attracted our tourist trade. But our reefs are no longer healthy."
Water watchers
BREEF, a private, not-for-profit, Bahamian company, was registered in 1994 to promote marine conservation in The Bahamas through research, education and management. While the foundation is at the forefront of the battle to keep the marine ecosystem healthy, it is not alone.
Dive companies in New Providence and the Out Islands have recognized the direct impact marine conservation has, not only for the well-being of the environment, but for the tourism industry as well.
"Diving is the epitome of ecotourism, the perfect ecotourism product," says Stuart Cove of Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas. "Diving is probably one of the first ecotourism products in the world - started? in the 1950s - it is not a new concept."
As diving is one of the premier reasons people visit The Bahamas, Cove and other dive operators recognize the need to do their part for marine conservation.
Conservation & education
Cove says one such effort is the establishment of mooring buoys throughout The Bahamas. Dive boats tie up to the buoys rather than dropping heavy anchors, which can damage coral.
"There has been a tremendous amount of effort with the moorings," he notes. "The payback is huge."
Bryan Cunningham, manager of Nassau Scuba Centre, explains that anchors dropped on coral often result in damage that can take decades to reverse.
"I've seen anchors bigger than me sitting on the coral, smashing it to bits," he says. "If a diver can destroy or damage coral by touch, imagine what an anchor can do."
Dive company operators agree that a major element of marine conservation comes from educating people about the dos and don'ts of diving.
For instance, divers are told not to remove anything from the reefs such as coral and shells, and they are instructed on the proper way to swim around the reefs.
"We tell them not to do a direct swim over the reefs but along the edges," says Antonio Cartwright, dive instructor and boat captain at Divers Haven. "In some areas the reef is shallow, sometimes four feet from the surface."
Leroy Lowe of Bahama Divers explains that a simple approach is often the best answer.
"We keep tours away from the reefs," he says noting that coral reefs can also pose a danger to divers. "What some people don't realize is that coral can cut. Most divers hardly know they're cut until the come out of the water."
Divers are also instructed on maintaining neutral buoyancy, securing their equipment, entering and exiting the water safely and they are encouraged not to wear gloves which makes it less likely they will touch coral.
Reaping the rewards
Exercising caution and recognizing the importance of marine conservation will ensure that the many spectacular Bahamas dive sites will remain that way for a long time.
Nassau Scuba Centre routinely visits more than 30 sites along the Tongue of the Ocean, a trench which plummets 6,000 ft. Sites include 15 wrecks, such as Bahama Mama, a 110-foot party boat which was sunk in 1995 and is located near a prolific reef; and Cessna Wall & Wreck, the site of an old Cessna aircraft imbedded in the wall and used in the film Jaws IV.
Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas offers wall, wreck and reef dives to sites such as the Razorback, a wall dive that features a sharp edged reef that jumps from a 65-ft sand bottom to a peak of 35 ft; and an excursion to Goulding Cay, a small island located one mile offshore and the site of shallow pristine reefs dominated by elkhorn coral.
While diving with Bahama Divers, expect to see some awesome diving sites such as Barracuda Shoals, a shallow reef with depths that never exceed 30 ft and house a variety of fish such as groupers, angelfish, filefish, grunts and snappers; and Thunderball Reef, one of the most filmed reefs in the world, used in several James Bond movies.
Sites frequented by Divers Haven include the Shipyard, a 90-ft wreck dive featuring four wrecks; and an excursion to Athol Island, home of a spectacular reef and marine park that is housing more than 50 different fish species.
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