Page 59 - Coral Reef Teachers Guide

Coral Reef Teacher’s Guide Benefits, Threats, and Solutions

NEGRIL CORAL REEF PRESERVATION SOCI‐ resorts, dive shops, and the Negril Chamber of
ETY: CORAL REEF PROTECTION IN NEGRIL, Com- merce, a total of 35 reef mooring buoys
JAMAICA were installed at Negril’s popular dive sites in
1991. The project in- cluded a workshop, the
The island of Jamaica is the third largest island first in an annual series, en- titled “Protect-
in the Caribbean. Its warm, clear, tropical wa- ing Negril’s Coral Reefs.” Community mem-
ters provide optimum conditions for an abun- bers heard from fisheries experts, scientists,
dance of coral reefs that fringe both the north gov- ernment representatives, and concerned
and south coasts. Jamaican coral reefs include citizens on ways to protect these coral reefs.
64 species of hard corals, 38 species of soft corals,
and 9 breeding species of sea birds. Major coast- Since that time, the NCRPS has become a
al wetlands are home to hawksbill, loggerhead, leader in coral reef conservation in the Carib-
and green turtles and, on the south coast, the bean. It has established its headquarters at
American crocodile. Fishing and tourism is im- the Negril Community Center and launched
por- tant to the developing economy, although several successful programs including the
trap fish- ing, the use of explosives for fishing, Reef Ranger Patrol of the reefs, a buoy main-
hurricanes, over- harvesting of reef fish, coral tenance program, annual marine debris
collection, and pollution from sedimentation, clean-ups, a school outreach program, and
coastal development and inad- equate sewage it has undertaken steps to create the Negril
treatment have all had measurable im- pacts Marine Park with zoned manage- ment that
on the fringing reefs, seagrasses, and beaches. includes creation of a swimmer’s lane to sep-
arate motorized vessels from swimmers.
One of Jamaica’s premier dive/tourism desti-
nations is Negril. Negril is located on Long Bay In 1997, the NCRPS, in cooperation with
on the north coast of Jamaica with a coral REEF RELIEF’s Craig Quirolo, began efforts
community that includes both shallow and to establish a water quality monitoring pro-
deep coral reefs and a long sandy beach and gram for Negril. A laboratory was set up at
cliffs at the north end. Conch, wrasse, parrotfish, NCRPS headquarters with the help of Dr.
Brian Lapointe of Harbor Branch Oceanograph-
edible sea urchin, manatees, green turtles, and ic Institution, Dr. Peter Bell of the University of
hawksbill turtles are all indigenous to the area. Queensland, Australia, and Dr. Thomas Goreau
with funding from the

The Negril Coral Reef Pres-
ervation Society (NCRPS),
founded by Katy Thack-
er and other concerned
divers in the area, con-
tacted REEF RELIEF in
1990 for help in creating
a reef mooring buoy pro-
gram to protect Negril’s
coral reefs (Figure 3-12).
With pro- ceeds from a
reggae con- cert in Key
West, matched

with volunteer divers and
contributions from local

Figure 3-12. REEF RELIEF Founder and Director of Marine Projects Craig Quirolo
with fishermen from Long Bay, Jamaica. Craig helped design and install a fish attract-
ing device to help improve fisheries production in the area. (Photo: Dr. James Porter)

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