BNT Team Gets In-Depth Lesson on Coral Reef Protection
Nassau, Bahamas – The Bahamas National Trust (BNT), the GEF Full Size Project, the Atlantis Blue Project and The Nature Conservancy all teamed up recently to train team members in the coral reef assessment tool known as Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA).
AGRRA is used worldwide to assess the health and status of coral reefs and is a useful way to help plan marine protected areas, an important component of the BNT’s work. Moreover, AGRRA is also used for monitoring existing national parks and protected areas in The Bahamas.
There were 23 participants in the course representing eight non-governmental organizations, Bahamas government staff and private corporations. BNT staff members from Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Bahama and New Providence attended along with staff from the BEST Commission, Department of Marine Resources, The Nature Conservancy, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF), Friends of the Environment, Atlantis and the Cape Eleuthera Institute.
The course was led by Dr. Dahlgren and Coral Reef Scientist Dr. Judy Lang, and Vonetta Burrows from Atlantis. Classroom and field sessions were conducted, focusing on coral reef health, fish counts, and benthic (seafloor) cover.
“Those of us who completed the AGRAA training will be able to go into the newly proposed Marine Protected Areas to assess the quantity, size and species of fish, algae, corals and other important species such as queen conch, diadema and lionfish,” said Camilla Adair, BNT deputy preserve manager for the Levy Preserve on Eleuthera. “The result of these assessments will then be presented to our government to help them assess if these areas are being overfished and to learn the health of the hard coral reefs.”
To learn about the BNT national parks and protected areas, visit www.bnt.bs. To learn about all areas proposed for the Bahamas National Protected Area System, visit www.bahamasprotected.com.