Adaptive Mooring Management Plan Sandy Island Oyster Bay Marine Protected Area Carriacou, Grenada Written by Monica Reed, Sustainable Grenadines Inc. October 2016 Please cite this document as: Reed, M. (2016) Adaptive Moorings Management Plan for Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area, Carriacou, Grenada. Prepared by Monica Reed, Sustainable Grenadines Inc. and The Nature Conservancy for Tobago Cays Marine Park with funding from USAID. Technical team: This plan was written by Monica Reed, masters degree candidate at Dalhousie University, Canada. Technical support and editing was provided by Sonia Jind, MPA coordinator, Sustainable Grenadines Inc., James Lord, executive director, Sustainable Grenadines Inc., Felicity Burrows, Marine Conservation Manager, Caribbean Program, The Nature Conservancy and Chris Bergh, South Florida Conservation Director, The Nature Conservancy. Cover photo: A 65-foot catamaran in Sandy Island Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area, 2016. This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of The Nature Conservancy and its partner Sustainable Grenadines Inc. and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government 2 Acknowledgments This project was implemented through the Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Program overseen by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) with financial support from USAID. Thanks to Sandy Island Oyster Bay Marine Protected Area staff and affiliates for their collaboration on this project. In particular, special thanks to Junior McDonald, Davon Baker, Senator Norland Cox, Aaron Bartholomew, Anique Coy and Akim Clement. Much appreciation is extended to Newton Eristhe and Aden Forteau for their ongoing support. Thanks to the interviewed parties that shall remain nameless to maintain confidentiality and to all others that offered professional opinions (refer to reference list of personal communications). Special thanks to Sustainable Grenadines Inc. for making this project possible. In particular, special thanks to Orisha Joseph, Sonia Jind, Alba García Rodríguez, Krisma Moore, Kristy Shortte and James Lord for their professional support and encouragement. Thank you to the Queen Elizabeth II Scholars Program for the training and financial support that allowed me to work on this project. Much appreciation is extended to Becky Field, Dr. Lucia Fanning and Dr. Claudio Aporta for their ongoing support. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ 4 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 6 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Marine Management in the Grenadines ................................................................... 8 1.2 Threats of Yachts to Marine Protected Areas ......................................................... 10 1.2.1 Carrying Capacity of Yachting Tourism.......................................................... 10 1.2.2 Threats of Anchoring ....................................................................................... 10 1.3 Mooring Systems .................................................................................................... 11 1.3.1 Importance of Mooring Systems ...................................................................... 11 1.3.2 Yacht Mooring Systems ................................................................................... 12 2.0 Study Area Context ..................................................................................................... 14 2.1 SIOBMPA Description ........................................................................................... 14 2.2. SIOBMPA Management ........................................................................................ 15 3.0 Assessment Methods ................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Management Review .............................................................................................. 17 3.2 Field Surveys .......................................................................................................... 17 3.3 SIOBMPA Visitation Data ..................................................................................... 17 3.4 Charter Yacht Company Interviews........................................................................ 18 3.5 SCUBA Dive Operator Interviews ......................................................................... 18 3.6 Identification of Threats .......................................................................................... 18 3.7 Siting New Mooring Systems ................................................................................. 19 3.7.1 Siting New Yacht and Small Boat Moorings ................................................... 19 3.7.2 Siting New Dive Moorings .............................................................................. 19 3.7.3 Superyacht Moorings ....................................................................................... 20 3.7.4 Demarcation Mooring Systems ........................................................................ 20 3.8 Stakeholder Workshop ............................................................................................ 20 4.0 Results ......................................................................................................................... 21 4.1 Management Review .............................................................................................. 21 4.1.1 Policies Supporting Mooring Management in SIOBMPA .............................. 21 4.1.2 History of Moorings at SIOBMPA .................................................................. 22 4.1.2 Mooring Management Operations ................................................................... 22 4.2 Field Surveys .......................................................................................................... 22 4.3 SIOBMPA Visitation Data ..................................................................................... 24 4.4 Charter Yacht Company Interviews........................................................................ 26 4.5 SCUBA Dive Operator Interviews ......................................................................... 28 4.6 Threats of Yachts in MPAs ..................................................................................... 28 4.6.1 Identified Threats ............................................................................................. 28 4.6.2 Threats of Improper Sewage Disposal ............................................................. 29 4.7 Potential Sites for New Mooring Installations ........................................................ 30 4.7.1 Sandy Island ..................................................................................................... 30 4.7.2 Paradise Beach, L’Esterre Bay ........................................................................ 31 4.7.3 Dive Moorings ................................................................................................. 34 4.7.4 MPA Boundary Demarcation Moorings .......................................................... 36 4 5.0 Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 36 5.1 Recommended Mooring Specifications .................................................................. 36 5.1.1 Mooring Design ............................................................................................... 36 5.1.2 Yacht Mooring System Components ............................................................... 38 5.1.3 Small Boat Mooring System Components ....................................................... 38 5.1.4 Power Boats/Super Yachts ............................................................................... 38 5.1.5 Colour Coding of Moorings ............................................................................. 39 5.2 Mooring Maintenance ............................................................................................. 39 5.2.1 Importance of Mooring Maintenance .............................................................. 39 5.2.2 Mooring Maintenance in SIOBMPA ............................................................... 39 5.3 Protection of Mangroves within SIOBMPA ........................................................... 41 5.4 Mooring Fees .......................................................................................................... 42 5.4.1 Mooring Fee Collection Procedure .................................................................. 42 5.4.2 Mooring Fee Costs ........................................................................................... 43 5.4 Sewage Waste Management Options...................................................................... 44 5.4.1 Sewage at Sea .................................................................................................. 44 5.4.2 National and International Regulations on Sewage Disposal at Sea ............... 46 5.5.3 Regulating