A world-famous dive operator and National Geo film collaborator today urged caution, calling for a halt-and-review of plans by a Miami-based investment group to build a Rosewood resort in the heart of the Exuma cays – a massive development, he said, that would potentially destroy “one of the last great undersea wonders in the Western world.”
Stuart Cove, owner and operator of Stuart Cove Dive, issued the plea for a review and redrawing of the plans after diving the reefs, sea grasses and waters where fish, crawfish and conch spawn, hatch and are protected off Sampson Cay in the Central Exuma chain of islands.
“I was stunned by what I saw and reminded of how rare the beauty of the waters in that area are and how pristine they remain, and also by the number of conch and mature conch,” said Cove. “Within the park (the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park) and around Big Sampson, including the North Bay and the cut, there were more mature conch than I have seen anywhere in years. It was like a haven.”
“If we are serious about saving the underwater environment we boast about to the world, the one we show in photos and videos, we need to save the Exuma cays. This is truly a special place on earth and we cannot, must not, allow it to be destroyed.”
Cove, who has exposed more than two million individuals from around the globe to the wonders of the undersea world in The Bahamas since he opened Stuart Cove Dive in 1979, said he wants others to share his passion about protecting life beneath the sea – life, he said, that could be wiped out in a day and take hundreds of years to restore.
The area drawing Cove’s attention – and that of thousands of others who have signed a petition calling for a halt to the Yntegra plans and a review – is in the heart of the Exuma chain of islands where the shimmering turquoise, blue and near-gold waters have been described as “more beautiful than a postcard could portray.”
Cove is the latest to add his voice to the growing chorus of concerned citizens and businesses, including the Save Exuma Alliance, a group of businesses, island operators and residents that came together to urge a halt to a project they say is better suited for a mainland with infrastructure than a small cay in the heart of an underwater wonderland.
SEA members have expressed concerns claiming the proposed project, as it stands, would hurt the economy, change the culture and destroy their quality of life that revolves around the naturalness of the surrounding environment. They say it is “too big and too great a risk,” and want it either downsized or relocated to a less fragile environmental area where there is infrastructure to support it.
In late September, the Planning and Subdivision Appeals Board began hearing appeals to approvals granted to Yntegra for the Rosewood-branded project. Those appeals were filed by two parties, the adjacent Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club that was under construction prior to the Yntegra announcement and the operators and owners of Over Yonder Cay, a neighbouring island. Together, their investments total nearly $200 million with Turtlegrass saying it will be forced to stop construction and cancel plans to invest another $50 million in its low-density, solar-powered beachside luxury cottage style resort if the massive Yntegra project is approved.
The Yntegra Rosewood project includes two marinas plus a cargo dock, and more than 90 structures. It would accommodate more than 500 people, operate mainly on diesel generators and produce over 100,000 gallons of sewage and 2.8 tons of garbage per day. Dredging for the megayacht marinas will occur in protected wetlands and the seawall and service dock in the North Bay would destroy invaluable coral reefs, wipe out the conch population Cove referred to, displace legally protected sea turtles and obliterate vast acreage of sea grass meadows that the government has touted as gold currency in carbon credits.
The Save Exuma Alliance is a coalition of community leaders, local business owners, and residents of the Exuma Cays. For more information about SEA, visit saveexumaalliance.org.
A petition has been launched to halt environmental clearance for the Rosewood Hotels/Yntegra Sampson Cay Project – and has already received more than 6,800 signatures. You can sign the petition at https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-halt-environmental-clearance-for-rosewood-hotels-yntegra-sampson-cay-project or follow the link from the SEA website.
The post Stuart Cove urges protection, Calls Central Exuma Cays ‘One of the last great undersea wonders in the Western world’ appeared first on ZNS BAHAMAS.
