Caribbean Sea Expedition – Protecting This Island Paradise

Protecting This Island Paradise

Caribbean Island: St. Lucia
City: Soufriere

March 15, 2000
by Dr. Baynes

St. Lucia is truly an island paradise. But like any place, it is vulnerable to the impacts of humankind. As the population grows and more visitors come, there is more garbage, more fishing, more diving, more boating, more pollution, and more sediment runoff. All of these changes causes changes to coastal marine communities such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove wetlands. It's no wonder that so many people want to live on and visit this island. It is gorgeous. Now the challenge facing the people of St. Lucia is to preserve the natural beauty of their island home, including the marine life just offshore.

To see what is being done to protect St. Lucia coral reefs and mangrove forests we visited the Soufriere Marine Management Authority (SMMA) office. We met the director, Kai Wulf, who told us how the people of St. Lucia are working to preserve the marine environment. SMMA was established in 1995. It divided the coast into five types of areas: marine reserves, fishing priority areas, recreational areas, multiple use areas, and yacht mooring areas. The marine reserves are areas set aside to allow fish to grow and reproduce. There is no fishing allowed in these areas. Large fish can produce many more babies than small fish, so it is important to have areas where fish can grow to a large size without being caught by fishermen.

In addition to having areas where fish can prosper, it is important that fishermen have a place to get food from the sea. Commercial fishing is a high priority. Divers, snorkelers, and yachters must keep clear of fishermen and not interfere with their work. Recreational areas are set aside for people who want to play in the surf, swim and enjoy the beach. Multiple use areas are for everyone to enjoy. Finally, in yacht mooring areas, buoys have been installed so boats can visit without dropping their anchors. Anchors can damage the bottom by crunching live coral and ripping up seagrasses.

SMMA park rangers make sure people obey the usage regulations. These rangers can give tickets to people who may be doing things that could damage the coral reefs. We met the Chief Ranger, Peter Butcher, who said he likes being a ranger because he likes working on the sea. He also wants to help protect St. Lucia underwater natural resources. Part of Peter's daily routine is patrolling the 11 kilometers of coast the SMMA administers, collecting park user fees from scuba divers and yachtsmen, and educating people about marine conservation. Peter is an advanced scuba diver and is working to become a diving instructor and marine biologist.

The SMMA is a community-based non-profit organization. An important part of any community are its young people. The citizens of Soufriere recognize this. In 1998 the SMMA ran a Kids Safari Summer Program. During the safari, children from all over St. Lucia, ranging in age from 8-14 years old, helped rangers study the reefs. One hundred and sixty children participated by snorkeling and boating over the reefs (via glass-bottom boats) and recording the fish species they saw. It was a great success and the SMMA has plans to start a Junior Ranger Program in the future. (To find out more about the SMMA go to: www.smma.org.lc.)

After meeting with Kai and Peter we went to meet some of the kids who will be responsible for protecting St. Lucia's underwater natural resources. We went to Soufriere Primary School and met the students in Mrs. Hyppolyte's class. These are some of the kids (ages 10-12) the SMMA is educating so they will be part of helping protect St. Lucia's underwater natural resources. We brought our laptop computer to show the students some of the pictures we took underwater. We also brought one of our underwater scooters too! (If you would like to talk to these students and ask them questions about the coral reefs, their school, what they do for fun, etc., you can email Mrs. Hippolyte's students at souf_primary@hotmail.com. They will be happy to reply and may email you with questions too!

Soufriere Bay is one of the areas where coral reefs are protected by the Soufriere Marine Management Authority.

Dr. Baynes talks to SMMA Manager, Kia Wulf, about what St. Lucia is doing to protect its coral reefs and mangrove forests.

The SMMA has five zones that show how the areas may be used. The green areas are for the protection of the coral reefs.

Karen with SMMA Chief Ranger Peter Butcher.

This is a special waterproof tag that divers must put on their BC to be allowed to dive in the marine parks. The money from this tag goes to the SMMA to help protect the reefs and, also, pay for programs like the Kids Summer Safari.

Wayne, Karen and Dr. Baynes meet students at the Soufriere Primary School. The lady in brown, in the back on the left, is the teacher, Mrs. Hippolyte, and the man kneeling in front on the right, is the principal, Mr. Dalson.