EXUMA DIVE OPERATOR WARNS NORTH BAY DEVELOPMENT COULD THREATEN REEF, SEAGRASS AND TOURISM

Environmental concerns surrounding Sampson Cay are also concerns about Exuma’s tourism economy.

The debate over the proposed service dock, dredged channel and associated works in North Bay is not confined to courtrooms and environmental reports.

Veteran Exuma dive, snorkel and fishing operator Keiran Miller recently told the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board that the waters surrounding the proposed dock area contain coral reef, healthy turtle grass and marine life that form part of the experience visitors travel to Exuma to enjoy.

Miller described a reef extending approximately three-quarters of a mile and marine habitat supporting species including groupers, jacks, eagle rays, queen conch and sea turtles.

His evidence raises an important issue that is sometimes overlooked in discussions about large-scale tourism development: the environment is itself part of the tourism product.

Exuma's clear waters, coral reefs, sandbars, seagrass beds and marine wildlife are not empty spaces waiting for development. They generate economic value every day through boating, diving, fishing, excursions, hospitality and the international reputation of the Exumas.

Development and tourism do not have to be opposing forces. But development that affects environmentally valuable areas must demonstrate that impacts have been fully identified, carefully evaluated and reduced wherever possible.

The Sampson Cay controversy therefore raises a larger economic question for The Bahamas:

How do we expand tourism without damaging the natural assets that make visitors want to come here in the first place?

Protecting Exuma's environment is not simply conservation policy. It is also long-term economic policy.

SOURCE: Reporting on testimony before the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, September 2026.