Updated February 6, 2021
Overview
Often considered to be the Shark Capital of the World, the Bahamas is home to at least forty species of sharks including Caribbean reef, oceanic white tips, great hammerheads, tigers, and bull sharks. The Bahamas is comprised of a chain of islands in the Atlantic Ocean spanning over 500 miles (800 kilometres) and is currently the only nation in the world to create a shark sanctuary out of the entire marine habitat that surrounds the islands, covering 243,000 square miles (630,000 square kilometres).1
A common phrase among shark conservationists is sharks are worth more alive than they are dead, both in ecological and economical terms. This is especially true in the Bahamas where tourism accounts for approximately 50% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about half of the nation’s labour force.2 The islands reached a record high of seven million visitors in 2019,3 and shark diving alone brings in over $100 million in revenue each year.4
In 1993, the Bahamas banned long-line fishing,5 a type of commercial fishing technique in which hundreds or even thousands of hooks are deployed off a single line. While long-line fishing can be a good technique for catching target fish, it is often harmful to other marine wildlife where the line is deployed. Non-target species, such as sharks, rays, and turtles, are frequently caught on the long-lines and suffer injury and/or death. Banning long-line fishing in the Bahamas created protections for sharks and other marine life in the Bahamas, allowing for populations to remain at sustainable levels.
The long-line fishing amendment helped to ensure healthy populations of sharks, but it took eighteen years to enact a law addressing protections specifically for sharks. After a seafood company in the Bahamas announced plans to export shark meat to Hong Kong in 2010, the Bahamas National Trust, Pew Environment Group, and other environmental activists campaigned for an explicit law protecting sharks in the Bahamas, and on July 5th, 2011, the Bahamas passed a law banning commercial shark fishing as well as the selling and trading of shark products. This new amendment to the Fisheries Resources Act effectively protected the Bahamas’ territorial waters, approximately 243,000 square miles (630,000 square kilometres), creating the Bahamas National Shark Sanctuary.6
Laws and Loopholes
Fisheries Resources Act, Restriction on Long-Line Fishing Amendment, 1993
The Bahamas enacted the Restriction on Long-Line Fishing Amendment in 1993, which prohibits the possession and use of long-line fishing equipment. Long-line fishing in this amendment is defined as fishing by line or cable with not less than ten hooks and the line extending, or cable of extending, beyond twenty yards.7
The ban of long-line fishing in the Bahamas is often credited as the first step to the conservation of sharks in Bahamian waters, as well as supporting a thriving marine ecosystem overall. Eliminating long-line fishing has also supported local fishermen whose livelihoods depend on ample stocks of fish, as long-line fishing can cause fish stocks to deplete and ecosystems to collapse. The amendment has been effective in eliminating the vast majority of longline fishing in the Bahamas, however, illegal activity can still occur. In 2014, it was noted that increasing amounts of fishing line, hooks, and cables had washed up on beaches in Southern Abaco Island, which likely indicates an increase of long-line fishing activity. It is suspected the long-line fishing vessels come from international locations, arriving at night to avoid detection and prosecution.8
Fisheries Resources Act, Shark Fishing Amendment, July 2011
Following the successful campaign for an explicit law protecting sharks, on July 5th, 2011, the Shark Fishing Amendment was passed, granting unprecedented protections for sharks in the Bahamas.9 The amendment contains five sections: (36A) Prohibition on possessing, fishing for, or landing shark, or shark parts; (36B) prohibition on the sale of shark, shark parts, or shark products; (36C) prohibition on export or import of shark, shark parts, or shark products; (36D) permit to fish for, possess, or export any shark or shark parts for educational, scientific, or research purposes; and (36E) catch and release of sharks. 10
The Shark Fishing Amendment turned the Bahamas’ territorial waters into a shark sanctuary. The law prohibits any citizen or visitor in the Bahamas from possessing or fishing for shark or shark parts, prohibits the sale of any shark or shark parts in the Bahamas, and prohibits the importation or exportation of any shark or shark products. Should a shark accidentally be caught while fishing in the Bahamas, that shark is to immediately be returned to the sea unharmed, in accordance with section 36E of the law. If a person or research organisation wishes to conduct research and education on sharks, they must apply for a permit allowing them to fish for or possess sharks for these purposes only (section 36D).
The Shark Fishing Amendment has been effective in eliminating shark fishing, though it is possible that black market occurrences still happen. However, even before the law was passed, it was difficult to find any legal shops that would take a visitor shark fishing due to the positive opinions in the islands and economic benefits to the Bahamas.
What You Can Do
Residents –report any illegal shark activity to the Department of Marine Resources in the Bahamas. Residents can continue to show their support for the Shark Sanctuary, as well as support any new pro-shark laws or amendments that may be introduced in the future.
Visitors – If fishing, release any shark accidentally caught immediately back into the ocean. Resist posing for selfies with the captured shark, as certain species, such as hammerheads, are susceptible to dying after being manipulated for those types of pictures.
Verify that any shark diving operation is ethically and efficiently run to ensure the safety of both the divers and the sharks.
Where To Dive With Sharks
With healthy shark populations and dozens of species, most every island in the Bahamas will provide visitors with the opportunity to snorkel or SCUBA with various shark species. There are several islands that are specifically notable for some of the best shark dives in the world.11
- Bimini – Great hammerheads migrate to the waters of Bimini every year from December to mid-April, with peak times from January to March.
- Cat Island – Off Cat Island is one of the last safe havens for oceanic white tips. March to June are the best months for catching a glimpse of these pelagic sharks.
- Grand Bahama Island (Tiger Beach) – Tiger Beach offers many shark species to dive with, notably tiger sharks, which can be found year-round but October to January being the peak months, and great hammerheads, December to mid-April with peak numbers from January to March.
- New Providence Island (Nassau) – The capital of the Bahamas is situated on New Providence Island and offers great shark diving year-round, but in June, divers can witness silky sharks gathering by the hundreds for their annual mating season at Lost Blue Hole. Divers can also swim with Caribbean reef sharks year-round.
- Andros – Andros offers divers the chance to see whale sharks, the largest species of shark, from December to March, with peak times from January to mid-March.
- Eleuthera, Long Island, and San Salvador – On these three separate islands in the Bahamas, divers have the chance to encounter many species of sharks including bull sharks (year-round, peak February to March), black tip reefs (year-round), and Caribbean reef and grey reef sharks (year-round). Hammerheads (year-round, December to February peak), oceanic white tips (mid-April to August, with June to August being peak times), and tiger sharks (year-round, February to March peak) are also possibilities when diving near these islands.
- The Exumas – The Exumas are a chain of islands, or cays, in the Bahamas, the largest of which is Great Exuma. The Exumas are another location where divers can swim with several species of sharks from bulls to Caribbean reef sharks. Especially popular though are the nurse sharks where people can swim up close to these laid-back sharks year-round.
3 Bahamas,(2021), Bahamas News – Updated Information about our Islands,Bahamas.com.
9Pew Trusts, (2011). Bahamas Acts to Protect Sharks.
10Statute of Laws of the Bahamas, Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Regulations.