Great Guana Cay

Location map
Bahamas
label = Great Guana Cay
lat_deg = 26
lat_min = 40
lat_sec = 0
lat_dir = N
lon_deg = 77
lon_min = 7
lon_sec = 0
lon_dir = W
caption = Location of Great Guana Cay within the Bahamas
float = right
width = 250

Great Guana Cay is an islet located in The Bahamas. It is a long but narrow islet which is 9 miles (14.5 km) in length. It is located in the centre of the Abaco Islands. It is located about 8 miles from Marsh Harbour which is located at the coordinates of ((26.54N 77.15W)).

There is a five and a half mile long beach on the ocean side of the island which is one of the longest in the Bahamas. There is a cove located on the island called Kidd's Cove named after a pirate.

The island has a population of approximately 150 people who live on a settlement which stretches along the beach.

Guana Cay has been continuously populated by Bahamian loyalists for over 200 years. Today, the island celebrates near 100% employment. The island hosts one of the best surviving coral reefs in the Bahamas.

Settlement

Great Guana Cay's settlement is known for its rich loyalist culture and architecture, as well as its lively social scene. Several traditional loyalist homes exist in the settlement, which wraps around a natural harbor.

Wildlife of Great Guana Cay

Great Guana Cay is a unique Abaco barrier island in that it hosts both one of the healthiest surviving elkhorn and staghorn coral reefs in the West Indies and also contains a large amount of virgin forest, making it prime habitat for migrating birds and Abaco endemics. Loggerhead turtles, green turtles and hawksbill turtles all nest on the island's beaches. White-crowned pigeons, white-tailed tropicbirds both nest on the island. Before removal of the crabbing-ground mangroves by a golf development, land crabs such as mountain crabs were common and were hunted for food by the native population.

Baker's Bay Controversy

Great Guana Cay leaped to international prominence in conservation circles when the residents of the island grouped together to form Save Guana Cay Reef, an organization designed to fight the large footprint of the Baker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club. [http://www.saveguanacayreef.com]

Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society, the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Mangrove Action Network and other conservation groups work side by side with the native islanders in a 3 year long battle against the golf resort, which is expected to destroy the mangroves and coral reef of the island. [http://www.globalcoral.org]

Legal Fight

Save Guana Cay Reef has lost its first case against the developer and the Bahamian government in appeals court, as of February 2008. They have applied for leave to privy council. In 2006, Save Guana Cay Reef successfully halted development at Baker's Bay through the privy council. [http://www.thenassauguardian.com/national_local/284783813365579.php]

In August 2008, Save Guana Cay Reef gained conditional leave to appeal their case to the Privy Council.

Nutrients, Corals and Mangroves

Scientific opposition to the Baker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club argue that the artificial marina, fertilized golf course and massive footprint of the development is unsuitable for a location adjacent to a coral reef. Coral reefs require nutrient-poor environments, and megadevelopments such as Baker's Bay will alter the nutrient makeup of the reef significantly, according to the developer's own EMP. [http://henge.bio.miami.edu/coastalecology/sustainable%20development/EMP_Jan_2007.pdf]

The development plan calls for removal of roughly half the island's remaining mangroves. Mangroves act as filters to the coral reef, and scientists believe this will fuel the destruction of the coral reef. [http://www.mangroveactionproject.org]

Celebrity Opposition

Several celebrity conservationists have voiced their disapproval of Baker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club, including Jean-Michel Cousteau and Karen Bjorndal.

External links

* [http://www.notesfromtheroad.com/guana.htm Guana Cay Blog]
* [http://reearth.org/?cat=29 ReEarth Guana Cay Archives]
* [http://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=great%20guana%20cay Google Maps image of Great Guana Cay]