Question Andros, Bahamas

[Jake 10]

Hello. I am looking for diving and vacation reports on Andros, Bahamas. The two I found on SB are dated 2008 and 2012. Are there any recent reports for the Andros Barrier Reef, Hotels near-by, and diving the Andros reef?

Recommendations on local shops? Is it better to stay in Andros or Nassau?

 

[Jake 10]

The only take I have from reading these two old reports is that divers seem to like the SHB operation, but the coral in the area was pretty much all dead, and the only fish out in good numbers were the lionfish. Any updates since then?

 

[living4experiences]

I have not been to Andros, but I have been to Grand Bahama and Nassau since 2020, and the quality diving is poor. There is a lot of dead coral, so you will be disappointed in what's left of a so-called reef. Many things have contributed to the conditions, and this is based on what I've seen personally and heard from the locals. Hurricane Dorian in 2019 ripped through the Bahamas (but maybe not Andros) and the affected islands are still recovering. Lots of the population left the islands and went to Florida, leaving a shortage of workers. The fish population is virtually gone because during COVID the locals fished out the sea. The government of the Bahamas has banned spearing lionfish and the population is out of control. I've seen the biggest lionfish in my experience in Exuma Cays at only 50 feet. They have no fear of harm and will swim very close, and there's so many, I had to kick them away with my fins.

 

[Jake 10]

Thank you for your report @living4experiences , this helps with our decision of not diving Andros Reef. Too bad for the local economy, but worst for the ecosystem around the islands. Do you know why the Bahamas banned spearing lionfish? Are they aware of the consequences?

 

[Jake 10]

Both conservation groups and scientists have noted that reefs with lionfish have experienced precipitous declines in local fish and crustacean numbers because lionfish have no natural predators in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Lionfish also have ferocious appetites and breed prolifically, which means that they can potentially destroy native fish populations for good. This is evident in Andros Reef off the East Coast of Andros Island, Bahamas

 

[living4experiences]

Thank you for your report @living4experiences , this helps with our decision of not diving Andros Reef. Too bad for the local economy, but worst for the ecosystem around the islands. Do you know why the Bahamas banned spearing lionfish? Are they aware of the consequences?

To my knowledge, no one in the Bahamian government is a scuba diver and they probably don't listen to the diving community when making and changing laws. So, they claim that NOT spearing the lionfish keeps the divers safe because there's a risk (unsubstantiated by actual events) that divers might (but haven't) get bit when a shark comes along to take the lionfish off the end of the spear.

In my experience watching this, the dive guide is the only one doing the spearing. Sometimes a shark will come by and take the lionfish. Other times, there's no predators that want it, and the guide just leaves it dead in the water. I have never seen any danger to the divers. The shark is laser focused on that lionfish and has no intent on munching on me. Once the shark has taken the lionfish, it disappears into the blue.

 

[Jake 10]

Any reports on Danger Reef, south of the sea tongue, and Nassau ??

 

[Jake 10]

Is there another blog besides SB where I may find information on the tongue of the ocean, Andros reef, danger reef, and status of local reefs in the Bahamas ??

 

[Jake 10]

There is a documentary from Smithsonian Channel on S1E5: Bahamas Exuma Cays talking about reefs around Bahamas Tongue of the Ocean area, and addressing bleach of corals and lionfish in their coral banks. But don’t provide a current status of the reefs .

 

[mcohen1021]

I did Eleuthera and Exuma 2021 and really enjoyed it.