Bahamian Marine Scientists Fundraiser - Sun. Jun. 22

Please support our Young Bahamian Marine Scientists
This Sunday, June 22, 2008 from 7pm to 10pm
at a Cocktail Reception Fundraiser at Plush Ocean View
East Bay Street
(Just before Harbour Bay, opposite IDB Bank)

Donation: $20 (all you can drink until 10pm)

Young Bahamian Marine Scientists

New Providence Community Center is proud to host a presentation on Young Bahamian Marine Scientists on Monday, June 9th at 7pm at NPCC on Blake Road.

Manta ray released from Atlantis Resort

By Meagan McCutcheon

PARADISE ISLAND, THE BAHAMAS – Today at Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas, the only aquarium in the Western Hemisphere to presently care for and study the manta, a team of 20 marine aquarists successfully completed the transfer of a 1,000-pound manta ray from the resort’s 2.7 million-gallon marine habitat back into the Atlantic Ocean as part of their renowned release and research program. Zeus, who has been at the resort for almost three years, received white glove treatment by the Atlantis team as he was measured at a final wingspan of almost 13-feet, with a mouth opening of 37 inches.

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Fishermen Start Your Engines!

By KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter, karan@nasguard.com


Lauren Cartwright, 34, a mother of two is excited that her family will soon be eating fresh Nassau Grouper, as the annual 75-day ban comes to an end on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Since the second week of December, Cartwright and her daughters have been missing the "sweet taste" of the fish, which it was illegal to catch from Dec. 15, and they prefer to eat only freshly caught fish.

"We live on Long Island, and my husband is a fisherman, so when we eat fish it's usually caught by him and fresh. But since the grouper season closed, we have not had any grouper since," she said.

"I know it sounds strange but my youngest daughter Mia is very picky about what she eats, and the only fish that she really eats is the grouper. So she's super excited to be eating her favorite fish again," says Cartwright.

Mia, Ashley and their mother are in for a treat, because come tomorrow, her husband and other fishermen will be out to sea to collect the expensive meat.

The Nassau Grouper season closed from December 15 to February 28, in order to allow the Nassau Grouper to reproduce. As the ban has now been lifted, everyone, including the local chefs couldn't be happier.

"The majority of people love grouper because it takes seasoning so well," says Old Bahama Bay executive chef Basil Dean. "And its also the prefect fish to prepare because it's so versatile.

"But one thing to remember though is that it only takes about 40 minutes to cook. So you have make sure you check it while it cooks. Also note that grouper is usually clear when it's raw and opaque when done. And when it's done, you should be able to prick it with a fork and it will flake."

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*Baked Grouper with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Serves: 4

3 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato (about 4 medium)

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon capers

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 (6-ounce) grouper fillets

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 10 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat. Place fish, skin sides up, in pan; cook 2 minutes. Turn fish over; top with tomato mixture. Bring to a boil. Place pan in oven; bake at 425° for 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Provided by Chef Basil Dean

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Grilled Grouper

Serves: 2

1 lb grouper fillet, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 sweet pepper

1 tomato

1 large onion

2 ounces lime luice

1/2 goat pepper

1/2 lb butter

1 table spoon garlic salt

Using foil paper doubled up; put all of the ingredients into foil and place on the grill for 12 minutes.

Provided by CoCo-Nuts Bahama Grill

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*Boiled fish

Serves: 4

2 lbs. grouper

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons hot sauce

Juice of 2 lemons, limes or sour oranges

2 onions, sliced

4 potatoes sliced

Place cleaned and washed fish in cooking pot and 3/4 cover with water. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, butter or margarine, hot sauce and lemon juice. Place onions on top of fish and cook over medium heat until fish is tender. Do not cook fish too long for it may fall apart.

Provided by Bahama Gateway.com

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*Abaco Baked Grouper

1 grouper fillet seasoned with pepper and lime

1 tomato, chopped

1 onion, minced

1 green pepper. chopped

1 tablespoons oil

Cook all but fish until tender. Place fillet in greased baking dish-cover with vegetables and place in foil. Bake at 350 degrees until fish is flaky.

Provided by Bahama Gateway.com

The Rob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation

The Rob Palmer Blue Holes Foundation is a nonprofit Organization dedicated to the scientific and physical exploration of blue holes within The Bahamas and related environment.

Located in close proximity of the populated world, a few metres below the ocean surface, lies a pristine world that holds details of about 100.000.000 years of history.

The Bahama Islands are perfectly situated as natural laboratories at this time because they are for the most part, still pristine.

Visit The Blue Holes Foundation WebSite.

Anchialine Caves and Cave Animals

Anchialine (from Greek meaning "near the sea") refers to coastal caves formed in limestone or volcanic rock that are flooded with seawater. They include the longest submerged caves on Earth. These caves are inhabited by a diverse array of previously unknown species from a number of new higher taxa. While some are primitive "living fossils", others are closely related to deep sea species. Most lack eyes and pigment, owing to their existence in the perpetual darkness of underwater caves.

Numerous caves and sinkholes in the Bahamas occasionally reach depths of 100 m, representing the lowest sea level from Pleistocene times. Such now submerged caves frequently contain stalactites and stalagmites, which only can form in air, thus confirming the long periods of lowered sea level these caves must have endured. Today, the groundwater on many island consists of a freshwater lens floating on underlying sea water.

Water-filled caves and cavities in the Bahamas are known as "Blue Holes" due to their predominant coloration. Such caves may occur in the interior of islands (inland blue holes) or in shallow waters on the banks (marine or ocean blue holes).

Three types of blue holes have been distinguished: (1) Cenotes are vertical shafts, frequently 50 to 150 m in diameter, that tend to bell out at depth and extend to 50 to 100 m depths. (2) Lens-based caves are laterally extensive systems formed at the contact zone between fresh and marine groundwaters. Lucayan Caverns, a lens-based cave on Grand Bahama, is the longest cave in the Bahamas at 14 km. (3) Fracture-guided caves are vertical, linear systems developed on major fractures running parallel to the steep edge of the carbonate bank. These fractures are believed to have formed as a result of slumping along the bank margin during periods of lower sea level. Such caves have passages 2 to 20 m wide, frequently reaching depths of 100 m or more.

Visit Anchialine Caves WebSite

Derek Roderick Photography

At the age of 10, Derek bought his first 35mm camera, and spent the summer shooting black and white land photos, and developing the film in his bedroom closet.

14 years later Derek became a professional scuba diver, and got his first real taste for underwater imaging while shooting video on shark dives in Nassau.

Since then Derek has traveled, and worked as a diver extensively, throughout the Bahamas, Florida Keys, Mexico, Hawaii, Palau, Yap, and the Philippines.

With Camera in hand on over 3,000 dives, as well as taking land photography throughout his travels, Derek proudly displays a sample of his art for your enjoyment.

Visit the Derek Roderick WebSite

Asian Lion Fish Threatens Fishing Industry

DESCRIPTION
The lion-fish belongs to the Scorpion fish family.
This brightly coloured fish is usually found in coral reefs, especially in shallow waters hovering in caves or near crevices. Lion-fish have venomous fin spines that can produce painful puncture wounds.
Fatalities, however, are rare.

The fish have elongated dorsal fin spines and enlarged pectoral fins, and each species has a particular pattern of zebra like stripes.

A person punctured by one of the sharp spines will immediately feel strong pain. Rapid swelling of the affected body area develops along with the possibility of making movement of limbs very difficult. Lion-fish stings can cause nausea, breathing difficulties, paralysis, convulsions and collapse. Even death may occur in exceptional circumstances. Most people survive in spite of the great pain. The venom in the spines remains active for days, so even discarded spines should be treated with caution. It may take several months for a full recovery and if the sting is left untreated, gangrene may develop.

FIRST AID
At first immerse the affected area (most often a hand or foot) into hot water. This is thought to improve the blood flow and disperse the venom. Local anesthetic agents may provide deep relief in most cases and occasionally a nerve-block may be required. An X-ray of the wound should be performed to detect any presence of broken spines, so any possible infection can be prevented.

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By SAM SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter

samsmith@nasguard.com

Captain Bruce Purdy watched a teenage passenger collapse on the deck of his boat when she brushed the venomous spines of a skewered, dead lionfish. He's heard of recreational divers on Exuma being airlifted to Nassau after exposure to their prickly, poison-filled spines.

Though victims of lionfish stings have said the burning sensation can be so intense that they feel like dying, the venom isn't known to be fatal. What's really troubling Purdy and fellow researchers is the effect that the invasive species could have on the fragile ecologies of Caribbean reefs and the commercial fishing industry.

Lionfish have been found along the Eastern United States for at least a decade. Some research puts the first Florida sighting in the mid-80s. But the research group REEF, of which Purdy's company Blackbeard Cruises is a member, hadn't spotted the versatile predators, with no known enemies in Bahamian waters, until three years ago.

Since 2004, REEF (an acronym for reef environment education foundation) has witnessed a 500-fold explosion in the local lionfish population, and there's no telling how much damage the voracious predators might do.

Though researchers differ on the extent to which lionfish will affect the overall commercial fishing and diving operations in The Bahamas, Purdy wants to sound alarms now, before things have a chance to get any worse.

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Bimini Road

In the early 1900's, famed American psychic Edgar Cayce predicted that evidence of the lost continent of Atlantis would appear in the Bahamas in 1968 or 1969. Curiously, in 1968 pilots photograhed from the air structures that looked like buildings, walls and roads under the waters off of Bimini island. Others have claimed to have seen pyramids and stone circles on the sea bed, but the only thing that has been confirmed for sure is what has become to be known as the Bimini Road.

Skeptics claim that the Bimini road is a natural formation, even though it is a unique one. But there is no denying the strange set of circumstances surrounding it. Cayce's prediction was uncannily accurate. And there is no denying, the "roads" are straight and look man made. Perhaps they are even part of a wall that has fallen or part of a larger buried structure.

Related Links:
Bimini: The Road To Atlantis
Crystalinks: Bimini Road
Wikipedia Info

Bahamas Reef Dwellers

See the different types of marine life in our Bahama Waters.