The Tribune

A SENIOR Atlantis executive has joined the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust as a board member.

Bahamian executive Vaughn Roberts, the senior vice president for government affairs and special projects at Atlantis, has joined the trust’s board of directors as the international non-profit organisation continues to strengthen efforts to restore and conserve coastal flats.

Mr Roberts joins the BTT board with more than 25 years of corporate leadership experience in the areas of government affairs, finance, and management of multi-faceted projects.

He said: “Atlantis and flats fishing are two cornerstones of the Bahamian tourism product and we are excited to be allies in efforts to preserve and protect our natural wonders. I am honored to join the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust board and to support the organisation’s important mission to conserve marine habitats here in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean.

“The importance of BTT’s work to identify, research and conserve shallow water habitats essential to our fisheries and economy cannot be overstated. Atlantis is proud to support the current mangrove restoration project as well as the remarkable past research that focused on bonefish spawning.”

Mr Roberts also serves as chairman of the board of Friends of the Arts in The Bahamas Inc and on the boards of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, the Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pension Fund, the Charitable Arts Foundation, and the Downtown Nassau Partnership.

“We are honored to welcome Vaughn to the board of directors,” said Jim McDuffie, BTT president and CEO. “His leadership, knowledge and commitment to the cause will greatly benefit our mission at a pivotal moment in The Bahamas.”

Mr McDuffie added: “Vaughn has the relationships and passion to be a crucial asset to all of our conservation efforts in The Bahamas and the region – those that are currently in operation and those which we hope to launch in the future.”

BTT has partnered for many years with a number of Bahamian conservation groups, including the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), whose new executive director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle spoke at the organisation’s recent board meeting and 10th annual Florida Keys dinner and awards ceremony, to promote mangrove restoration across The Bahamas.

In her remarks to a room of over 300 BTT supporters, she said: “In reflecting on the past 15 years of the partnership between BNT & BTT and all of the great things we did together, from conducting research to inform new protected area designations, to supporting flats conservation educational programmes, to restoring mangroves in heavily degraded and impacted by major hurricanes, to the reopening of blocked creeks that supports the fly-fishing industry - I am more than hopeful for the future.”

Another key initiative for BTT is the Bahamas Mangrove Alliance (BMA), a new multi-sector coalition dedicated to protecting and restoring mangrove habitats across the archipelago. Announced on Earth Day 2023, the BMA’s other founding members are local nonprofits the Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS) and Waterkeepers Bahamas (WKB).