ELEUTHERA, BAHAMAS — A development along the harbour across from Savannah Sound in south Eleuthera is causing concern for residents living near the waterfront.
The construction of what appears to be a dock in the shallow sound has fishermen like Julius Rankine worried about how the new development will affect his livelihood and that of others who have cultivated their way of life around the bonefish pond.
In a nearby area, Rankine pointed out a pile of dug up red mangroves mounted the sand.
“That is very, very bad for this area because in my life and maybe in my kids lifetime, you’ll never really be able to get fish from here the way that I used to do it, my father used to do it and his father before him,” he said.
Interrupting the bonefish living space is one layer of the issue surrounding the development but beyond that Rankine explains that even more concerning is that the area will be dredged to accommodate large sea vessels which would change the entire underwater landscape and affect locals during hurricanes.
“They’re building with the boat basin and housing 37 foot vessels, and in order to get those vessels in that area, you need to be able to dredge and that is what the locals are afraid of.
“[…] Even with the removal of mangroves the dredging is worse because the dredging is going to cause a higher tide in the area and […] during hurricanes its bad enough.
“So being able to dredge through these areas will change everything […] it would allow more, bigger sharks to come through and it would allow more boating in the area.”
The fisherman added that the shallow Savannah sound is home to a number of marine species that Rankine said he sees a variety of every day including endangered turtle species, rays, grunts and snapper.
“This is the biggest sound for the bonefishermen which is one of the top industries in the Bahamas and with things like this happening it really discourages the bonefish from being in the area as well
“You’ve got a lot of the stingrays that would hang up in areas like this would eventually move out as well.
“A lot of the bait fish that we would normally go for to bait grouper traps which is like your yellow grunts and species like that, you will no longer be able to find here like this anymore,” Rankine said
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