#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002
Turks and Caicos Islands
These reefs are similar to those of the Bahamas with a deep fore-reef dominated by
gorgonians and boulder coral Montastrea annularis. Green algae are abundant on the fore
reef, especially Laurencia, Microdictyon and Lobophora. The majority of the coral reefs
are still healthy, with diverse and abundant corals. Adverse human activity is slight with
the major damage to fore-reef corals coming from intense dive tourism, especially near
Providenciales, West Caicos and the western drop-off on Grand Turk. Massive
construction on East and South Caicos with direct destruction of reef habitat, and
increased sedimentation, is threatening the reefs. It is unlikely that conservation
measures and enforcement will be able to keep up with the likely negative impacts of
these activities, unless additional resources are diverted to the protection and
enhancement of the marine resources.
There is intense fishing for lobster on the large patch reefs in the shallow, sheltered
waters of the Turks and Caicos Banks, but the direct impacts are relatively limited,
although chlorine bleach is sometimes used. Most of the Caicos Bank is covered by sand,
algae, and sea-grasses, and is an important nursery ground for conch and lobster, but
threats are minimal. The reefs have changed little since AGRRA surveys in 1999 and levels
of coral mortality remain low, while coral diversity and cover remain relatively high
(>30% at several locations). The School for Field Studies, Centre for Marine Resources
Studies showed average coral cover of 18% (range 8-33%) on South Caicos in 1999 Coral
disease and bleaching are rare, and a wide variety of target fish species, such as groupers is
evident. There are low levels of bleaching in South Caicos.
STATUS OF CORAL REEF FISHERIES
For many countries coral reef fisheries are extremely important in socio-economic terms,
providing valuable employment and food for local consumption as well as to support the
tourism industry. Exports of main species such as the spiny lobster and queen conch
provide valuable foreign exchange for countries such as Jamaica, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
Many coral reef food fishes aggregate in large numbers at specific locations, seasons and
moon phases in order to spawn. Such fishes include groupers, snappers, jacks, mullets,
bonefish and others. A variety of such species will often spawn at common sites. These
aggregations are prime targets for fishers, who often take large catches from them. In
consequence, a number of them have been wiped out, along with the fisheries they
supported. In the western Atlantic, grouper aggregations with a known history of heavy
fishing pressure include Bermuda, Cayman and the Dominican Republic.
Bahamas
The fisheries sector contributed 2.3- 2.5% of GDP to the Bahamian economy between
1994 and 1996 (similar to insurance, and more than banking). Most are in New
Providence, however the lobster fishery is particularly important in Eleuthera and Abaco.
The 1995 Fisheries Census lists 4,050 Bahamian commercial fishing vessels employing
9,300 fishermen (6.8% of the workforce). The most valuable fisheries are lobster, conch,
grouper, snapper, and jacks. Fisheries exports were US$74.1 million in 1999 (95% was
lobster) and Bahamian landings of lobster are 4th in the world (after Australia, Brazil and
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