Cooperative efforts seeks to plant 100,000 mangrove seedlings in the next 5 years.
Hatch Magazine, February 12, 2021
Hurricane Dorian stalled over the Bahamas in early September of 2019, thrashing the islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama with unrelenting winds, rain and storm surge. The devastation the storm inflicted on both islands—destroying airports, sweeping away hotels and fishing lodges, and leveling entire neighborhoods—was catastrophic and absolute. But impacts to the Bahamas from Dorian weren’t limited to its human toll. The storm also caused extensive damage to the natural environments of the hardest hit Bahamian islands. Perhaps most notable was the damage done to the ecologically crucial mangrove forests that ring the Bahamas’ islands and cays.
“Mangroves are an essential part of the ecosystem that supports bonefish and other flats species,” explained Bonefish Tarpon & Trust President and CEO Jim McDuffie. “They provide habitat for fish and other wildlife, prevent coastal erosion, and help buffer the communities where our friends and partners live against storms.”
A recent scientific survey revealed that Dorian damaged or destroyed nearly 74 percent of Grand Bahama’s and 40 percent of Abaco’s mangroves. In order to combat this damage, and speed recovery, a new mangrove restoration project is seeking to transplant as many as 100,000 mangrove seedlings to the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian.
The project is a partnership between Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT), Bahamas National Trust, Friends of the Environment, and apparel brand MANG — whose “Buy One. Plant One.®” initiative makes mangrove restoration an everyday part of their business model.