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Bahamian Community Doing Good For Ocean Conservation

By Joseph Ierna Jr., Ocean CREST Alliance
We have badly managed our ocean for decades through overfishing, pollution, climate change and development. We have all been part of the ongoing decline of our ocean in some manner, and we can all be the solution to its repair.
On Long Island in the Bahamas, the “Long Islanders” are trying to restore a once-rich ecosystem while sustaining their economy and their direct ties to the sea. This delicate balance is not easy to maintain, but it is necessary to return our ocean to its former glory. In an ongoing process to establish a large marine protected area (MPA), the small 4,000-person community of Long Island Bahamas is making good progress in establishing protection for 215,000 acres of coastal waters.…

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A Story of Poachers, Corruption, Compassion, Community and Conservation

By Joseph Ierna Jr. / Ocean CREST Alliance
Today a global struggle effecting the health of our communities, our economy, and the very life-sustaining health of our oceans is the ugly reality of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities or, as called in the Bahamas, poaching. Since our encounter with hundreds of poachers on Cay Sal Island Bahamas on July 2nd, crawfish season opened August 1st and the legal Bahamian fishermen are just returning from their first month of trips. The numbers of poachers they are seeing are astounding, while the numbers of crawfish they are catching are the worst in a decade. Our oceans are dying. 
“If tings don’t change soon Joe, I’ll be changing my occupation,” says Scott Harding, a 35-year veteran craw fisherman based on Long Island, Bahamas.…

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