Bahamas Shark Tourism Value
Nature intact fuels the economy of these islands
The Bahamas Islands have become one of the premier shark diving destinations in the world. The warm, clear waters and the sheer numbers of sharks make it one of the best places to see sharks year-round. On most dives, one can see 5 or 6 different species, some of them are hard to find anywhere else. But this status hasn’t come easy. The government, with the help of many international organizations, implemented management and conservation initiatives over the past 25 years that are now paying off. Literally.
The Highlights from a 2017 published paper by Haas et al., 2017 explain:
Sharks and rays in The Bahamas generate $113.8 million USD annually for the economy.
Most of these $113.8 million USD revenues come from the shark diving industry.
The relative economic value of sharks was highest in economically deprived islands.
The monetary benefits of sharks in economically deprived islands remain unrealized.
The study also establishes the Bahamas dive industry as the largest in the world (as of publication date 2017). While most of this revenue was generated through tourism, some of it was also generated through film, television, and research. Nevertheless, every once in a while demands are made to increase shark fishing again, particularly after a shark bite incident. Killing tiger sharks to reduce their numbers is an irrational knee jerk reaction that would, in no way, increase water safety. One can only hope that cooler heads will always prevail in the agencies that regulate the conservation of sharks. If the economic numbers continue to show the value of live sharks, sticking with full protection of sharks will be a lot easier to defend.