The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Marina and environmental chiefs yesterday asserted that despite “relief all around” that the Exuma-wide moorings deal has been aborted there are still fears it will be “repackaged” and return in a different form.

Eric Carey, the ex-Bahamas National Trust (BNT) executive director, also challenged the Government’s environmental justifications for the now-aborted deal on the basis that many of the 49 sites selected for the Bahamas Moorings lease did not impact or cover “sensitive habitats”.

Informing Tribune Business that “what’s next is the question everyone is asking”, he added that his own review of the 49 sites - plus feedback from research scientists - suggested that the seabed for consisted of sand as opposed to coral reefs, seagrass meadows or other “hard bottom” types.

Many instead appeared to have been selected for their commercial potential and Bahamas Moorings’ likely earnings, with Mr Carey pointing to one - Big Majors Cay - as a location where “hundreds of boats” go to see the swimming pigs.

And Peter Maury, the Association of the Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, who said he had been “dumbfounded” by the moorings/anchorage scheme when it was first disclosed, suggested to this newspaper that the Government and Bahamas Moorings quickly agreed not to go through with it because they knew the deal would not withstand public scrutiny.

And he warned that the agreement, which effectively privatised all feasible, safe mooring locations in the Exuma Cays outside the Exuma Land and Sea Park by putting them into the hands of a private monopoly, will likely be revived at a later date when public attention is focused elsewhere with the names and identities of those involved changed.

Tribune Business previously disclosed the links that many of the principals involved in the Bahamas Moorings deal enjoyed with the Prime Minister’s Office and persons inside it. Speaking after both the Government and company disclosed they will not proceed with a 21-year lease deal covering 4,165 acres of Exuma seabed owned by the Bahamian people, Mr Carey said: “It seems to be relief all around.

“I think everyone is relieved, especially in the boating community, those that felt they were being taken advantage of. The community is relieved for people visiting that they are not going to be hit with some sort of payment that could potentially destroy their own livelihoods.”

Giving the Government and Bahamas Moorings credit for making “the right move” and abandoning the project, he added: “It’s good to respond to the concerns of the public and there’s no doubt there were a lot of concerns raised by the public with respect to transparency and due process.

“And 90 percent of the boaters said they would not be taken advantage or they could not afford to pay what the fees were. If you are paying 50 cents per day per foot, they could spend a lot of money in a month and crews do not budget for that.”

The ex-BNT executive director, now a private environmental consultant, also queried the rationale expressed by the Government to justify the Bahamas Moorings tie-up. The Davis administration, in its first statement on the agreement on Sunday, sought to link it to its much-touted ‘blue carbon credits’ initiative and environmental protection/conservation.

“For years, unregulated anchoring has significantly damaged coral reefs and seagrass beds - critical marine habitats supporting biodiversity and carbon sequestration,” the Government asserted.

“Recent research by Beneath the Waves, a leading marine science organisation, has documented a 20-30 percent decline in seagrass coverage in parts of the Exuma Cays over the past decade, underscoring the urgent need for action. Installing these moorings will help preserve marine ecosystems while enhancing navigational safety by reducing anchor-related destruction and minimising seabed disturbance.

“The project will utilise eco-friendly moorings with helical anchors, a system successfully implemented in mooring fields at the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Staniel Cay and Elizabeth Harbour, Georgetown. These moorings will help organise anchoring patterns, improve vessel safety and reduce the environmental impact of unregulated anchoring,” it added.

“Additional benefits include a reduction in sediment disruption, carbon loss and greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is also a key component of the Bahamas Blue Carbon Project, which aims to generate funding through carbon credit sales linked to the protection of seagrass beds and marine sediment; critical natural carbon sinks.”

Mr Carey, though, said the Bahamas Moorings model was contrary to most other parts of the world where governments and local authorities “operate and own” mooring and anchorage facilities. While they may outsource management to, and enter into revenue-sharing with, private sector entities, “you don’t give up all the seabed to private interests”.

“It’s very important that the areas the Government selects for mooring should be the ones that are sensitive, that need protection; not all areas that boats are going to use,” Mr Carey told Tribune Business. “I can tell you from my own review of the 49 sites, and feedback from research scientists, that most of them are not hard bottom, coral reefs or seagrass. They are not sensitive areas.

“BIg Major’s, a spot where everyone goes to see the swimming pigs, hundreds of boats go there. They anchor in the sand; they don’t anchor in sensitive habitats. There’s no logic to putting them [mooring sites] there. They need to have a clear analysis of what needs to be protected and consult on that.

“Communities want to know what the trade-off is. Protecting the environment is important, but if communities are going to suffer the Government may have to do fewer anchorages, control of the density rather than access to moorings. There’s now an opportunity for everyone to sit back, take a look at it and make the best decision in the interests of the community, environment and the Government.”

Mr Maury, meanwhile, challenged the Government’s assertion that Bahamas Moorings was using “eco-friendly moorings with helical anchors, a system successfully implemented in mooring fields at the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Staniel Cay and Elizabeth Harbour, Georgetown”.

The ABM chief said: “The moorings weren’t environmentally friendly. All they did was take an anchor with a chain and drop it overboard [to secure the mooring buoys]. It’s no different from what’s been happening.” Tribune Business has obtained videos showing what appear to be buoys secured to the ocean floor by an anchor and chain, although it was unable to confirm if these were installed by Bahamas Moorings.

However, a bill of lading for Bahamas Moorings, showed that a consignment of what was described as “anchors” and “link chain” shipped by a Chinese company arrived in The Bahamas on January 2, 2025. “There were so many things that were wrong with it,” Mr Maury added of the Exuma Cays anchorage/mooring deal.

“A lot of the boats go and anchor out. They go into the marinas and when they have people on board they go out and anchor. I can’t say it was going to cut everything in half but if people were serious about boycotting we would have lost all that business in the Exumas. No matter what everybody thinks, the boats have to go buy groceries, gas and go to restaurants. They don’t just sit on the moorings.

“It was our land. The seabed is Crown Land. Myself and several people looked at it and they had taken the best anchorages away... It needs to be seriously investigated and shouldn’t have happened like that. It’s absolutely wrong. Someone has to speak for the people. It’s obvious our government is not looking out for our interests.”

However, both Mr Maury and Mr Carey agreed that the termination of the Bahamas Moorings deal may not be the end of the matter. “I’m still dumbfounded. Nothing surprises me these days,” the ABM chief added. “They’ll probably try and repackage it and stick it to us another way. We’ll see what happens.”

Mr Carey said: “What’s next is the question everyone is asking. Is Bahamas Moorings going to emerge in another form in a couple of months with properly executed documents? These are the questions people are asking.”