Green Antilles

To help preserve coral reefs, authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands have banned the capture and sale of parrotfish:

It is a widely known fact that globally, coral reefs are facing many negative impacts that not only affect the ecological balance of these delicate ecosystems, but also the livelihood of those who depend on it for food and income.

These factors include land-based pollution, climate change, improper fishing practices and overfishing to name a few. Despite having some of the most pristine coral reefs remaining in the Caribbean, the Turks and Caicos Islands are not exempt from these impacts with one of the primary threats to coral reef health and sustainability being that of overfishing and overgrowth of algae resulting from land-based source of nutrient/pollution.

As such, the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) has recently taken steps to initiate mitigation measures to address this issue through a revision of the Fisheries Protection Ordinance and Regulations to incorporate the management of a key species, the parrotfish.

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By way of the recent review of the Fisheries Protection Ordinance and Regulations put forward for signing and approval by His Excellency the Gov. Ric Todd on Nov. 4 (effective as of Dec. 1), the DECR hopes that both species numbers and populations of parrotfish can be maintained to ensure sustained biodiversity, coral reef health and the preservation TCI’s fishing industry.

The new regulations now make it illegal for individuals to catch or have parrotfish for sale. To date, outside of Belize, the TCI is one of the few Caribbean countries known to take such a bold initiative in an effort to protect this vital resource towards preventing widespread coral reef destruction as seen in other islands such as Jamaica, due primarily to overfishing of parrotfish.

Get more information in the full article from the Turks and Caicos fp.

Previously on Green Antilles: Caribbean reefs need more parrotfish.

[Photo: Laszlo Ilyes]

The Turks & Caicos Reef Fund is a [recently] formed non-profit located in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This brief video describes the goals of the organization and provides a brief overview of the non-profits’s first project.

The Turks and Caicos National Museum recently helped to establish the Caribbean’s first Bird Walk and Bird Drive Trails. The Museum’s Director of Business Development writes:

Dr. Mike Pienkowski is a leading ornithologist in the United Kingdom. He is also the Honorary Executive Director of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF). I first met Ann and Mike when Mike was my son’s boss. To my son’s horror, as we entertained Mike and Ann in our garden, I would point out “Big Bird” (yellow-crowned night heron) and “Tweety Bird” (yellow warbler). Yes, I was a birder extraordinaire!

Both Ann and Mike made many trips to TCI over the last 15 years to count and identify the bird population. They were instrumental in bringing the plight of the salinas (and the effect on the bird populations) to the TCI Government, which in turn bolstered the case for protecting Town and Red Salinas. To say birding is their passion would be an understatement.

Fast forward to 2010, when Mike and Ann heard about the Carnival/TCInvest/TCIG/Infrastructure Fund. They approached the Turks & Caicos National Museum to partner with them and present a proposal for funding a bird trail. The concept of a Bird Trail is not new, in fact it has been on the back burner for almost nine years. Lack of funding — not enthusiasm — was the culprit. We pitched the idea, and were awarded a grant from the Infrastructure Fund.

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The Bird Trails will be the first of their kind in the Caribbean, and were presented by Dr. Mike Pienkowski at the July 2011 conference of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) in Freeport, Bahamas. SCSCB plans to encourage and market such trails throughout the region in a network of Caribbean birding trail experiences.
When I took the position of director of business development for the Turks & Caicos National Museum, little did I know I would have the opportunity to learn so much about birds, and how they depend on our salinas. I also never knew that TCI is one of the best birding places on earth, where one can see many different species of birds even without the use of binoculars.

Get more information in the full article from Times of the Islands (tip of the hat to Repeating Islands for the link).

Previously on Green Antilles: Unusual bird sighting in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Birding in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

[Photo: via timespub.tc]

The CEO of the leading power supplier in the Turks and Caicos Islands is of the opinion that solar and wind energy are not viable power sources for the territory:

AMID calls for Turks and Caicos to embrace fully wind and sun energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, a leading electricity supplier says that is not likely in the foreseeable future.

Mr Eddinton Powell, CEO of Fortis TCI, the territory’s leading power supplier, told members of the Providenciales Rotary Club early September that there is no imminent replacement of diesel as the main fuel for electricity generation mainly because these renewable energy sources are of a ‘non-firm capacity’ and current technology does not allow for efficient storage of electricity generated by those elements.

As Mr Powell threw cold water on the likelihood of wind and sunshine becoming mainstream sources of energy for electricity generation, he however spoke of another renewable energy source – natural gas – coming on to be a major player alongside diesel while technology makes the other elements more reliable suppliers for power production.

Referring to suggestions that as much as 50 per cent of the electricity should be generated from wind and the sun, Mr Powell said: “The minute the wind stops blowing, or the sun stops shining you would have black out. That is absolutely a fact. … When the wind doesn’t blow, the sun doesn’t shine, it doesn’t work.”

Mr Powell’s presentation to Rotarians on September 13 was in similar vein to one delivered to the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce in February.

Read the full article from the TC Weekly News for more. I feel I should mention that it seems to be the article’s author, not Mr. Powell, who refers to natural gas as a renewable energy source; Mr. Powell is quoted as saying that natural gas could be an economical “bridge to renewable energy”.

[Photo: Matt Hintsa]

Authorities in the Turks and Caicos are facing a persistent solid waste management problem:

The long standing problem of pollutants emitted from the Providenciales dump site has reappeared, as acrid smoke from numerous small fires has drawn complaints from residents and attention to a recently released expert report.

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A report from expert Dr Pierre Auger of the Pan American Health Association, who conducted a survey of Provo’s dump seven months ago, has just been released by the interim government.

It is believed that financially deprived scroungers looking for copper wire are at least in part responsible for the fires that are causing the choking smoke, which Auger says is dangerous to young and old alike. Auger has also cautioned about contaminants getting into the ground water.

A new problem soon to emerge may be the proliferation of the new CFL type light bulbs being promoted as a power saving device. These devices contain a serious pollutant — the liquid metal mercury — which cannot be incinerated or dissolved and is known for entering the marine environment and fish stocks. Mercury can be injurious to children and the unborn.

See the original article from TCI News Now.

And as an aside, that last paragraph raises a concern I’ve voiced before on this site; a national switch to energy-saving bulbs should involve environmentally-sound provisions for the disposal of the mercury that such bulbs contain.

From the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Press Office, via the Bahamas Weekly:

A bird spotted at Mangrove Cay located within the Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve has stirred discussions among professional members of the Society for the Conservation and Study Caribbean Birds (SCSCB).

Recently, some officers of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), along with the President of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB), Dr. Lisa Sorenson of Boston University and Ms. Michele Kading, the Head of Interpretation of the Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre in Manitoba, Canada, and a participant of the Wetlands Education Workshop spotted the dark bird with white feathers on its wings and tail at Mangrove Cay in Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve.

Dr. Sorenson conducted some research on the unique bird and concluded that it was an intermediate morph of the Reddish Egret. She noted that the new Stokes Bird Field Guide says: ” An Intermediate morph is like a dark morph but with some white feathers, often on its wings”. However, the book did not include a photo. She also searched the web but could not find any photos similar to the bird. Dr. Sorenson claimed that she has never seen this intermediate morph before.

Anyone with any additional information on this rare bird is requested to contact SCSCB and the DECR.

See more photos accompanying the news release and in this SCSCB photo album.

[Photo: ©Eric Salamanca via SCSCB]

From the Turks and Caicos fp, an article for those interested in Caribbean birdlife:

Although geographically small in scale, the Leeward Cays — including the islands of Water Cay, Pine Cay, Fort George Cay, Dellis Cay, Parrot Cay and the cays of the Princess Alexandra Nature Reserve — are a treasure trove for birds with an affinity for freshwater resources. The late spring and early summer season usually brings a few drops of rain, filling low-lying palustrine flood plains and providing the precious elixir required by waterfowl to fledge their young.

On Pine Cay, the only permanent fresh water lakes in the TCI archipelago provide a reliable source of water for American coot (Fulica americana), least and pie-billed grebes (Tachybaptus dominicus and Podilymbus podiceps), and various species of duck including the regionally-endemic white-cheeked pintail (Anas bahamensis). These birds are also observable in the temporary ponds and marshes that form this time of the year on all of the Leeward Cays.

The wide variety of wetland habitats throughout the Leeward Cays include estuaries, shallow salt ponds and floodplains and provide extensive foraging and breeding areas for wading birds. Almost anything goes this time of the year, and those armed with binoculars are likely to catch a glimpse of a wide variety, including but not limited to reddish egret (Egretta rufescens), great blue heron (Ardea herodias), black-necked stilt (Himanotopus mexicanus), greater and lesser yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca and T. flavipes) and great white egret (Casmerodius albus).

Native fruit trees are also in their full glory following the seasonal rains attracting the fruit-loving species of the thrush family. The fruit of locust berry (Byrsonima lucida), Blolly (Guapira discolor) and lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum), to name a few, are among the culinary favorites of the thrushes.

Read the full article to learn more about the birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

[Photo: barloventomagico]

From the Turks and Caicos comes a story about the rescue of a stranded humpback whale:

A large, stranded humpback whale was recently rescued by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), local fishermen and divers last month near Grand Turk, the Ministry of Environment and District Administration says.

Over Easter weekend, the whale was trapped among the reefs next to Long Cay southeast of Grand Turk and was believed to be traveling with her calf and another pod member when she lost her way through a cut in the reef and was unable to get out.DECR was first contacted about the stranded whale on Good Friday, April 22, when local fishermen indicated that the whale may have been trapped for up to three weeks.

Through its conservation work, the DECR is aware that the global whale population numbers are still extremely low due to intense hunting during the 1960s, and is committed to making every effort to rescue and release the stranded whale.

DECR contacted the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), a global charity organization dedicated to the conservation and welfare of whales and dolphins, to provide experienced guidance and advice on releasing the mammal back to its intended course.

The rescue team, made up of members from the DECR, Oasis Divers and local seaman, worked well into the night by banging solid wood and plastic objects on the hulls of their boats to generate loud echo’s under water to guide the whale through the cut and back to the open ocean. When the team arrived the following morning, they were relieved to see that the whale had indeed found its way out.

DECR thanked Sue Rocca of WDCS, Oasis Divers and the local fishing community for their assistance in freeing this whale and encourages members of the public to continue to report any incidents or situations relating to the welfare and preservation of both the marine and coastal environment.

From the Turks and Caicos fp

[Photo: Leslie]