Picture credit score: Harrison Hughes

By Ann Albury, Sepp Haukebo, and Carlito Turner

The cerulean blue waters of The Bahamas are world famend for his or her expansive saltwater fishing flats. These flats—shallow, sand or seagrass coated nearshore areas—are the best habitat for stalking prized fly fishing species, together with bonefish, tarpon, allow, cobia, and snook. 

The Bahamas is named one of many high locations globally for saltwater flats fishing. Based on analysis by The Bahamas Sportfishing Conservation Affiliation, The Bahamas is house to the most important flats and bonefish inhabitants on the planet. For this reason annually, tens of 1000’s of leisure anglers from across the globe journey to The Bahamas, also known as the “bonefish capital of the world”, in the hunt for the catch of a lifetime. Success just isn’t assured—bonefish are notoriously shy and elusive, that means touchdown a bonefish is a formidable problem for even essentially the most skilled anglers. 

Luckily, The Bahamas can be house to native skilled fly fishing guides that make their residing instructing casting methods, sharing their observations of fish conduct, and a lifetime of data of native waterways and ecosystems, to assist seasoned and novice anglers land the catch of their goals.  

Picture credit score: Harrison Hughes

Fishing Guides: Honored Lecturers and Protectors of the Flats 

Flats fishing guides spend numerous hours on the water observing native wildlife. They’re additionally among the first to witness rising environmental threats, together with unlawful sand and limestone mining, unauthorized coastal improvement, mangrove deforestation, and the impacts of local weather change on fisheries.  

With an intimate consciousness of The Bahamas and the crucial flats, coral reef, and mangrove ecosystems that help each leisure fisheries and native small-scale fisheries, guides are additionally among the staunchest advocates for the safety and administration of the marine setting. In recognition of this, lately, the Honorable Minister Vaughn Miller of the Ministry of Surroundings and Pure Assets appointed 12 veteran guides as wardens for the primary time ever.  

For guides, enjoying this crucial position is nothing new. For many years, guides have served as unofficial ambassadors for The Bahamas, welcoming avid anglers from across the globe and instructing them about Bahamian historical past and tradition, whereas additionally serving their very own communities as native leaders, preventing for civil rights, supporting native employment, and performing as conservation stewards.  

The leisure flats fishing sector generates an estimated $182 million {dollars} annually for the nation and helps 8,389 full-time jobs. Specifically, all through the less-populated “household islands” of The Bahamas, fishing lodges and native guiding companies are one of many highest income turbines for native economies.  

Regardless of their significance to Bahamian communities and coastal ecosystems, native guides face many challenges, together with local weather change, coastal habitat destruction, and entry to inexpensive loans and insurance coverage. 

Homecoming: A Bridge Between Islands 

As the dimensions and scope of threats to the flats improve, alternatives to debate and develop methods to deal with these challenges are few and much between. In September 2024, over 70 flats fishing guides from greater than a dozen islands, with over 1,500 years of cumulative guiding expertise, met in The Bahamas’ capital metropolis of Nassau for the Second Bahamas Nationwide Flats Fishing Information Homecoming Conclave. The occasion was organized by The Bahamas Sportfishing Conservation Affiliation, The Bahamas Fly Fishing Business Affiliation, Environmental Protection Fund, and Russell Craig & Associates.  

In The Bahamas, a “homecoming” signifies when a former island resident returns house to reunite with family and friends. The Second Bahamas Nationwide Flats Fishing Information Homecoming Conclave paid homage to this idea however supplied one thing distinctive—a chance for residences guides from throughout the nation to satisfy in-person and deepen relationships with one another. In an archipelagic nation with over 700 islands and a couple of,300 cays, the chance to satisfy guides from different islands of The Bahamas could be uncommon as interisland journey is expensive. The homecoming served as a chance to forge new relationships and strengthen camaraderie and the collective information group. 

Guides weren’t the one individuals on the homecoming. The opening ceremony additionally served as a chance for guides to listen to from and deal with Bahamian dignitaries and policymakers.  

In his keynote speech on the occasion, Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Honorable Philip Davis addressed the guides and voiced his appreciation for his or her position as cultural ambassadors and environmental stewards, noting, “flats fishing is a Bahamian cultural legacy that stretches again over a century. You maintain the knowledge of generations—a powerful inventory of abilities and methods that take years to hone, and a long time to grasp. And at the same time as you share these skills with others, you achieve this with a profound respect and appreciation for our marine ecosystems.”  

Picture: Keith Bryan Jr.

On the opening ceremony, the Prime Minister was joined by Honorable I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, Honorable Jomo Campbell, Minister of Agriculture and Marine Assets and Member of Parliament representing Centreville, Honorable Leon Lundy, Minister of State and Member of Parliament representing The Berry Islands, Mangrove Cay and South Andros, and Honorable Leonardo Lightbourne, Member of Parliament representing North Andros. In the course of the opening ceremony, two veteran fly fishing guides, Omeko Glinton from Grand Bahama and Stevie McKenzie from Exuma addressed the delegation and advocated for better authorities help for the business and coverage interventions to guard the livelihoods of Bahamian guides.  

Over the rest of the two-day occasion, individuals shared their views on challenges and alternatives to sustainably enhance the Bahamian leisure fisheries sector, and guides coalesced round regional priorities for securing the way forward for the sector.  

In the course of the closing ceremony, Minister Miller acknowledged the wealth of data that guides maintain and expressed his help for increasing the warden program all through extra islands of The Bahamas, formally entrusting veteran guides as stewards of the ecosystems that they’ve protected for many years. 

The Homecoming marked a pivotal second for the Bahamian flats guiding business. It was a chance to convey guides collectively to have a good time a wealthy historical past of saltwater fly fishing, and collectively, to chart a path for the long run. The occasion embodied a standard hope throughout all individuals—that the pure sources of The Bahamas and the Bahamian communities that depend on them prosper, supported by a wholesome and thriving native information sector.  

As Prime Minister Davis famous in his keynote deal with, “a sustainable flats fishing business includes group empowerment as a lot because it includes environmental conservation.” The duty now could be to construct from the momentum of the Homecoming to make sure that Bahamian guides obtain the help they should proceed their path as stewards of the setting and leaders of their communities.  

Picture: Keith Bryan Jr.