Updated July 11, 2019
Cuba is considered the crown jewel of the Caribbean due to its almost intact coral reef ecosystems, mangrove forests and seagrasses. Scientists believe that nearly 20% of the world’s 500 shark species swim in Cuban waters.1 However, with Cuban tourism rapidly expanding, how the government balances ecotourism and the rapidly expanding demand for fish to feed tourists will be critical.
Cuba has a long history of environmental conservation. The country has the largest network of marine protected areas in the Caribbean. To date, 105 MPAs have been proposed, with 57 legally incorporated and 13 managed to standards. About 30% of Cuban coral reefs, 24% of seagrass beds and 35% of mangroves are legally protected.2 Two MPAs have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Desembardo del Granma and Alejandro de Humboldt). The reef system on the southern coast stretching from the westernmost point of the island to Jardines de la Reina is on the tentative list for designation. This system is 500 miles (800 km) long and includes nine different protected sites.
The most notable MPA for divers is Jardines de la Reina National Park (Gardens of the Queen), often called the Galapagos of the Caribbean and one of the largest marine preserves in the Caribbean at 800 square miles. The Jardines de la Reina is a system of 600 uninhabited cays and islands located 60 miles south of Cuba’s central coast. Since its establishment in 1996, scientists have found that fish populations have increased 30%, and shark populations are 10 times greater inside the protective zone than in the waters outside.3 Only 1,000 catch-and-release fishermen and 2,000 divers are permitted to enter the Gardens each year. Commercial fishing, except for lobster, is banned. The area is only accessible via liveaboard.
The group, Global Conservation, is working to install Global Park Defense for Marine Protected Areas in Jardines de la Reina. The technology consists of five integrated components: long-range video, marine radar, AIS surveillance, and park-wide communications. These are low cost and readily available surveillance and communications technologies. The goal is to eliminate all poaching and illegal activities in the park. Ongoing funding of the program will come from new fees from divers and fishermen. Global Conservation hopes to use the system at Jardines de la Reina as a model for other MPAs throughout the world.4
Laws & Loopholes
Cuba is a signatory to Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which bans the export of specific animals without a specific export license. Shark finning has been banned in Cuba since 2014, and fishermen are required to land sharks whole. Fishing for sharks is only banned outright in certain of the country’s extensive system of marine protected areas.
In October 2015, the government issued its National Plan of Action (NPOA) for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Sharks. At the time, it was the only island nation in the Caribbean to complete a plan. The overarching goal of the plan is the conservation and sustainable management of sharks in Cuban waters. The plan lays the foundation for coordinated data collection to understand the threats faced by sharks and their role in the Cuban marine ecosystems. The plan will also guide setting of fishing limits, the training of fishermen to collect data on shark catch and protecting critical juvenile habitats.5
Interesting Information
Fidel Castro was a critical player in the establishment of Cuba’s extensive system of MPAs. In a 2014 interview with the group EcoWatch, Castro claimed to have dived and fished Jardines de la Reina along its entire length. He began as an avid marlin fishermen and assumed the oceans were infinite. After a meeting with Jacques Cousteau, he was converted into a dedicated environmentalist and subsequently committed to preserve 25% of Cuba’s waters from extractive fishing as marine preserves.6
In 2015, Discovery Channel aired “Tiburones: Sharks of Cuba”, an hour long special as part of Shark Week. The special follows a multinational team of Cuban and American scientists as they deployed satellite shark tagging for the first time in Cuba. Three silky sharks were tagged in Jardines de la Reina National Park. The tags revealed that the sharks at times moved away from the inshore reef area, spending most of the time in the upper water column but also diving during the day. One of the sharks reached a maximum depth of 2,073 feet (632 meters).7 The team also deployed a pop-up satellite tag on an extremely rare longfin mako shark off Cuba’s north coast. The shark, tagged in February 2015, left Cuban waters, traveled as far north as New Jersey until the tag surfaced off the shores of Virginia. The shark swam nearly 5,500 miles in five months, averaging 35.6 miles per day and dove to depths of 5,700 feet.8
What You Can Do
Resident
- Push for bans on unsustainable fishing methods such as long lining and gill nets.
- Advocate for increased shark protections and
- extension of marine protected areas.
- Do not consume shark meat.
Visitors
- Report any illegal fishing in marine protected areas.
- Do not consume shark meat.
Places To Dive With Sharks
Cuba is home to roughly 54 of the 500 known species of sharks including: Whale Sharks, Caribbean Reef Sharks, Great Hammerheads, Blacktip Sharks, Silky Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Shortfin Mako Sharks, Smalltooth Sawfishes.
- Jardines de la Reina – Shark sightings are virtually guaranteed
- Bay of Pigs
- Cayo Largo del Sur
- Cayo Coco
- Punta Frances
Note: Due to recent changes in travel restrictions to Cuba, U.S. citizens should check with the Department of State for current status prior to booking a trip.
1 Cuba launches shark protection plan
2 Valderrama.S.et.al (2018). Marine Protected Areas in Cuba. Bulletin of Marine Science. 94(2): 423-442
3 Stephen Frink, “Jardines de la Reina: Cuba’s Pristine Paradise,” Alert Diver, Fall 2018, p.70
4 Jardines De La Reina National Park, Cuba5 EDF and Cuba Partner on Historic Plan to Protect and Restore Sharks
6 Stephen Frink, “Jardines de la Reina: Cuba’s Pristine Paradise,” Alert Diver, Fall 2018, p.70
7 Cuba Research to Make Splash on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week
8 Rare Shark Tagged Near Cuba “Phones Home” Near US. Coast