During the 5th to the 7th of March, Zakita and Micheal represented the Centre of Sustainable Development (CSD) and the wider Island School/CEI community at the annual Agribusiness Expo in New Providence. Here, they spoke about the models of food production (Permaculture and Aquaponics) currently being employed at Cape Eleuthera, as well as networking and informing visitors to the expo about the events and opportunities going on within this organization. 

by

Seven Queens University students, a group of visiting students from Ontario, Canada here fulfilling the field requirement for their teaching degree, came to lend a hand. We split the students into groups where they rotated between three different stations. In the Wet lab, they not only saw all the checkered puffers, bonefish, juvenile lemon sharks, lionfish, yellow stingrays, cobia, tilapia, etc. but they also learned how and why we are studying these marine species. The next station was a virtual tour of a coral reef – a movie by BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation) where the students learned what makes a coral reef, its importance in the Bahamas, and how to protect this fragile coastal ecosystem. The third station was split between the farm with pigs, ducks and a permaculture garden, and the sustainable systems of campus. The systems tour exposed students to how we make biodiesel for our school vans, resource/recycle ~90% of what we use, and how we reduce our energy “footprint” by using solar panels and a wind turbine to produce energy. And last but not least, the trip ended with homemade chocolate chip cookie bars as a treat from our kitchen! It was a fun and energetic afternoon that is for sure.

Sharing our unique campus & systems with students who our research directly affects is really something special and more than important for the protection of these ecosystems. I hope to see Cooper Primary as well as other local schools here to visit us in the near future!

Tiffany Gray, Lead Educator

by

The CEI booth was packed with information on a range of issues including plastics awareness, conch conservation, sharks, climate change, bonefish best handling practices, aquaponics, and aquaculture info. We also had free giveaways! The fried lionfish and tilapia samples were a big hit, especially with all the local kids! The aquaculture mini system and free lettuce was also very popular. The day in Rock Sound was great fun – thank-you to all the CEI staff and interns who help run the booth. Look forward to the next homecoming!

by

Mature wild-caught lobster were housed in one of the vacant holding tanks in the wet-lab and fed off-cuts, old dissection specimens and any other organic material that would have previously been discarded. Due to a lack of published information on ideal stocking densities and holding conditions, another objective of this study is to determine the optimal levels of the above mentioned parameters. A number of capture methods were tested. These include baited cages, pole-snares and by hand. The latter two methods have thus far been the most effective.While the primary focus of this project is waste management, a secondary focus is an attempt to capture Spiny lobster pueruli, pre-settlement. Pueruli refers to a life stage in the lobster between larvae and juvenile. These pueruli are then transported back to the lab, where they are also fed organic waste produced by the lab, chopped into a finer form than that which is given to the mature specimens.

The reason for targeting pueruli is that they naturally occur in relative abundance compared to their mature adult counterparts. Their survival rates in the wild from pre-settlement to maturity are also quite low, due to predation. Captive rearing eliminates this impact. An additional reason for targeting pueruli is that the early life stages of juveniles (prior to reaching the puerulus phase)  are numerous and difficult to care for in captivity. They require a varied diet of live feeds and are very susceptible to fluctuations in environmental parameters (pH, salinity, ammonia concentrations, etc.)

This method of cultivation is highly successful in SE Asia, using the lobster species Panulirus ornatus and P. homarus. This success is due to the fact that there is an abundance of pre-settlement pueruli present in certain parts of Indonesia and Vietnam that are easily captured. This method, however, hasn’t been very successful in other parts of the world, namely Australia. For this reason, focus there has been placed on hatchery technology. This wouldn’t be very feasible at CEI due to equipment, power and space requirements.

The method for capturing these pueruli employs the use of settlement traps. In essence these are submerged frames draped in strips of fabric/netting, placed in strategic positions in the wild that mimic the seaweed/grass found naturally in the area. This attracts pueruli to it, as they seek shelter from predation by hiding amongst the strands. These traps are checked regularly, and any specimens found on the traps are captured by means of a hand net. Opinions are varied regarding the best time to check the traps, but moon phase seems to play a roll. New moon seems to be a favoured option.

Lobsters are the reef’s janitors, and we hope to they can perform the same function here at CEI. And, hopefully in the not too distant future, provide us with some tasty lobster tails.

by Thomas Keet (photography credit – Tyler Sanford)

by

Tom Keet, from South Africa, attended Stellenbosch University near Cape Town, SA. He just finished his undergraduate degree in Aquaculture, and is putting to use what he learned in the CEI wet lab. Tom heard about CEI while researching sustainable aquaculture projects, and decided to apply for a spring internship.

Tom is helping to establish a pilot study on the feasibility of culturing spiny lobster in the lab. With his knowledge of aquaculture systems and his strong work ethic in the field, Tom is a valuable addition to team CEI. While here, Tom says he plans to enjoy his time working in the ocean, strengthen his experience in aquaculture, and fish in his free time. Tom plans to head back to South Africa in June to pursue a Master’s degree in Aquaculture.

by

As you may remember, CEI outfitted the offshore cage with Predator-X netting that was donated by the materials company DSM, www.dsm.com, and the net production company Net-Systems, www.net-systems.com. We are happy to announce that this netting did survive shark predation attempts, showing minimal damage from any shark bites it did endure. The netting, in conjunction with adequate cage maintenance (such as removal of any dead fish and regular cleaning) is the answer to the aquaculture program’s major problem of fish escapement, and will lead to yearly cobia growouts and year-round harvest.

The next steps for the aquaculture team is to bring growing cobia in the lab so that the cage can be restocked by the end of the Spring. We will also be focusing on starting some smaller scale production cycles which include penshells and spiny lobsters. A big thanks goes out to everyone who has helped this entire process! We could not have done it without you!

by

Once both groups are acclimated and showing good growth rates, we are going to attempt to breed them and raise penshells into maturity. We plan on putting the resulting stock in the mangrove

area next to the wet lab effluent water outflow. This water is high in nutrients, and should provide an excellent environment for the penshells to thrive, while reducing our nutrient input to the mangrove system. Additionally, we plan on putting a group of penshells down current at the cage as well for the same reason. Any excess nutrients resulting from our intensive cobia aquaculture will be taken up by the penshells, mitigating our environmental impact while providing us another product to harvest and market.

Soon there will be cleaner water and tasty scallops here at CEI, stay tuned!

by

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bPe5LIiqVV0]

by