Still Crying for Buccoo Reef

The Buccoo Reef system has been studied by scientists and civilians long before climate change became by-words. Is it now too late to save the reef, Dr Anjani Ganase talks with Kevin Kenny, founder and first president of the Crusoe Reef Society.

 

The waters around Tobago from May to November last year felt like tepid bath water. Visitors were able to dip in and out with gleeful enjoyment at beaches and off boats, and divers required no wetsuits for warmth.  However, diving for more than an hour felt like you were sweating underwater and required cooling off on the boat. For the marine life there is no escape, the reefs are slowly cooking. We talk about climate change in the future tense, but we have been living the impacts of a warming ocean for at least the last five years, with coral bleaching being observed even during the previous cooler years prior to 2023. Marine heat waves are getting more common and severe as we push global temperatures beyond the living thresholds of shallow coral reefs. Is it too late?

 

Coral Gardens, Buccoo Reef. Photo by Anjani Ganase

Crusoe Reef Society

The first drive for marine conservation and protection of Buccoo Reef, our most developed reef on Tobago, started nearly 40 years ago. Funding-raising to save the reef led to the formation of the Crusoe Reef Society, whose members consisted of scientists, activists, engineers and fisherfolk. The first president elected was Kevin Kenny. The Society set to work implementing several recommendations that were made by visiting scientist Thomas Goreau who had conducted an assessment for the Tobago House of Assembly some 20 years earlier, and the work of Julian Kenny from The University of the West Indies. They worked together with the Institute of Marine Affairs, and the Fisheries Division, Tobago House of Assembly. At the time, the reef was being physically destroyed by storm damage exacerbated by people walking and anchoring boats.

 

The recovery of the coral was being impaired by nutrient pollution from surrounding development and daily visits to the reefs. Now we know that at the same time, throughout the wider Caribbean, there was a coral disease raging, killing the branching corals all round the Caribbean, and Tobago was no exception. The perfect storm for coral destruction. To this day, the reef zones where the elkhorn thickets used to peak above the water are a graveyard of elkhorn skeletons.

 

Filming for Cry for Buccoo. Photo provided by Kevin Kenny

Members of Crusoe Reef Society installing navigational markers. Photo provided by Kevin Kenny

Kevin Kenny and the reef patrol boat. Photo provided by Kevin Kenny

Partnerships across Tobago

In the late 1980s, the Crusoe Reef Society worked to identify boat lanes, install channel markers and permanent moorings to limit the damage caused by boats hitting the reef and anchoring. The Society donated a reef patrol boat to the Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries, THA, and assisted them where necessary. The channel was identified by Ralf Gibson who had lived in Bon Accord for years and had plotted the only natural passage through the reef. It was named “Gibson’s passage” in his honour. The Society in partnership with the Institute of Marine Affairs conducted several projects on the impacts to the Buccoo Reef, including a marine pollution assessment of the Buccoo Reef and Bon Accord Lagoon which highlighted the need for sewage treatment in the area. The Society welcomed international collaborations to assist on research projects that aligned with conservation goals such as the international reef restoration group, The Florida Land & Sea Trust, as well as partnerships with Glasgow University who would send 20-30 students to Tobago to undertake science projects.

 

A short film documentary - Cry for Buccoo – raised public awareness on the state of the reef, highlighting how the value of the reef was being chipped away by excessive use and ill-regard for the health of the ecosystem. The film was the first video recording of Buccoo Reef’s marine life for the public eye. The documentary was not in vain as it sparked the need for a management plan for Buccoo Reef which was developed by the IMA for THA in 1994.

 

Unfortunately, to this day there has been no holistic adoption and implementation of a marine management plan for Buccoo or any reef around Tobago. As work and family obligations took priority for the members, the drive of Crusoe Reef Society waned. In 2000, the Society handed over all its assets to the newly established Buccoo Reef Trust, which continued the work of marine research and conservation until 2015.

 

The progress on marine management and education on the importance of marine park conservation continues to be slow often led by individuals or organisations who have the passion and vision to work in marine conservation with little policy or institutional support. The irony is that while climate change was not in the thinking of Crusoe Reef Society, research shows that well-established marine reserves protected for many decades with fully recovered reef fish communities and biodiversity are more likely to be resilient to climate change. Additionally, management for pollution, sediment run off and active management in reef rehabilitation against climate change impacts – storm, disease and heat wave damage - will give Buccoo Reef the best chance of surviving into the future. If the Buccoo Reef had been fully protected since the 1980s, the future of the reef would be on a different trajectory, one of productivity and hope. 

 

Coral bleaching on Buccoo in 2023. Photo by Hannah Lochan

Is it too late?

Imagine, a marine park that attracts international visitors willing to pay top dollar to enter Buccoo Reef Marine Park because of its pristine corals, clear waters and white sand. Imagine a place of pride cared for by all Trinbagonians. Imagine being briefed about the importance of the mangroves and seagrasses, two habitats critical to marine biodiversity and a major nursery for our island’s commercial fishery. Imagine no litter, leaking oil or murky algal blooms.

 

Imagine the audacity of tour operators making sure tourists remove nothing from the reef in the park, because they know that a damaged reef is not only less valuable but a personal insult. Imagine tour operators working together with reef managers to plan excursions with safety, fairness, and exclusivity in mind. Imagine patrol boats supporting the tour boats in cases of emergency and identifying reef hazards; working together to maximise the visitor experience and the island’s reputation. Imagine operators teaching visitors about the many species of corals, sponges and sea fans and marine life – octopus, fish maybe even a resident shark, called Buccoo, who is well fed by marine life and protected by locals.

 

Imagine Bon Accord Lagoon being the area where you are most likely to spot green turtles on the island as they forage on the seagrasses, both turtles and sea grasses avidly protected. Imagine a centre dedicated for coral and seagrass research and restoration, supported by fees paid by visiting researchers and visitors. Imagine being confident that the reef will protect the coastline from severe storms during the hurricane season because the corals continue to thrive and grow and reinforce a natural breakwater.

 

Kevin adds “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” He wants us to think about greener ways to use the marine space. Instead of jet skis, what about kayaking and paddle boarding? Let’s swap gas boats for quieter electric motors, and fishing lines for a mask and snorkel. Let’s invest in the health and resilience of the marine space, to build our returns.

 

This dream is possible but requires our common understanding, ownership and will. We must all be willing to act to conserve the natural environment with the knowledge that it will serve and protect us. But without this understanding that we must act to protect nature, we will indeed cry for Buccoo.

 

Coral Gardens, Buccoo Reef. Photo by Anjani Ganase