Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

Set up in 1958, this was the first land and sea park anywhere in the world, and in 1986 it became a full no-take reserve where nothing at all may be caught or collected. That decision has been studied ever since, because the park now demonstrably restocks the fishing grounds around it: Nassau grouper and spiny lobster grow to sizes rarely seen elsewhere in the region and their larvae drift out to the wider chain. It covers around four hundred and fifty square kilometres of cays, sand banks and reef in the northern Exumas, with no settlements, no shops and no scheduled transport, reached by private boat or charter and used mostly by cruising sailors.

History

In 1953 Daniel Beard, superintendent of Everglades National Park, proposed setting aside part of the Exuma Cays as a park, an idea welcomed by the Nassau papers; a formal proposal followed in 1955, and on 13 February 1956 the Governor confirmed that 22 miles of the Exumas had been set aside, provided an organisation would recommend how to run and fund the park. A survey led by Carleton Ray of the New York Aquarium and Jack Gabow recommended founding the Bahamas National Trust to look after it, and the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was established in 1958 under the Trust (Wikipedia, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park).

What you'll find

• The no-take reserve - large grouper, lobster and conch on the reefs.
• Warderick Wells - the park headquarters and its mooring field.
• Boo Boo Hill - the driftwood signs left by passing sailboats.
• Rocky Dundas - sea caves with stalactites, entered by dinghy.

When to go

December to May is the dry season with the calmest conditions; the moorings at Warderick Wells book out in the winter cruising season. Summer brings heat, calms and the hurricane risk from June to November.

Things to know

There is no way in without a boat, and no scheduled service exists; visiting means chartering or sailing. Nothing may be taken, including shells and lobster, and the rules are enforced. There are no supplies, no fuel and no medical help inside the park. Moorings are limited and anchoring is restricted to protect the seagrass.

Nearby

Staniel Cay is south; Highbourne Cay is at the northern end.

Key facts