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| View of sand bars from the bluffs of Halls Pond Cay in Exumas Land and Sea Park. |
We first visited the Exumas Land and Sea Park nearly 10 years ago, and instantly fell in love with the pristine beaches, forested bluffs, and incredible wildlife that we discovered there.
Now celebrating their 60th year as a marine protected area, the Park is as beautiful as ever! With the weather now settled into a pattern of afternoon summer thunderstorms, we spent days snorkeling, hiking and exploring the cays within the Park.
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| View from the peak of Hawksbill Cay. |
The Bahamas National Trust manages the Park as a "No Take" zone, meaning that all animals and plants are protected, and fishing, spearing, and collecting of conch or other shells is prohibited. Research conducted here has demonstrated that protecting fishery habitats and stocks work: tagged grouper and other fin fish from the Park have been found over 150 miles away.
We had a brief conversation with Park Administrator Capt. Joseph Ierna, who explained that the Trust is working to build more capacity for park management, including new boats and more educational programs for boaters. The Trust recently instituted new regulations that require anchoring fees, in addition to their well established mooring fee program.
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| Mature living Queen conch in Exumas Park, another example of why it's important to protect wildlife. |
Brenda and I were delighted to see hundreds of mature Queen conch in one pristine cove in the Park (many were mating), a strong indication that enforcing a "No Take" policy works. In other areas of the Bahamas, these animals have been sadly over harvested.
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| S/V Pandion at anchor off Halls Pond Cay. |
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| Changes in the Park: Go fast tour boats that fly through the sanctuary. |
To learn more about the important work of the Park, see www.exumapark.org.
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