Grenada

Grenada Grenada is the most southerly island of the Eastern Caribbean. [1] It has patch and fringing reefs on the east and south coasts, at Grand Anse and Moliniere on the west coast, and around the islands of the Grenada Grenadines. [2] The Reefs at Risk analysis found all the 160 sq km of reefs around the waters of Grenada to be threatened by human activities. The most pervasive threat is overfishing, threatening all reefs, followed by coastal development threatening 85 percent of reefs. Marine based pollution threatens about a quarter of the reefs, and the analysis showed that more than half the reefs are under threat from sedimentation. Tourism development is very intensive on the southeast coast, particularly at Grande Anse Bay. [3] Reefs on the west coast of Grenada, and in the Grenada Grenadines, are very important for recreational diving. [4] Sewage, agrochemical pollution, and sedimentation from coastal development during the 1980s are believed responsible for the degradation of many shallow reefs around Grenada and the Grenadines. [5] A system of marine parks has been proposed by the Fisheries Department of the Government of Grenada, but not legislated. [6] At present only two such areas have been declared to be protected areas by the Fisheries Division-the coral reef of Molinere and the sea grass beds of Woburn-but no management infrastructure or regulations are in place for their protection. [1] M. Spalding et al., World Atlas of Coral Reefs (Berkeley, California: University of California Press and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center, 2001), p. 165 [2] P. Hoetjes et al., “Status of coral reefs in the eastern Caribbean: The OECS, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, The Netherlands Antilles and the French Caribbean,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2002. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2002), p. 325 [3] A. Smith et al., “Status of coral reefs in the Lesser Antilles, Western Atlantic,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998 . C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998), p.142 [4] A. Smith et al., “Status of coral reefs in the Lesser Antilles, Western Atlantic,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998 . C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998), p.142 [5] A.H. Smith et al., “Status of coral reefs in the eastern Caribbean: The OECS, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, The Netherlands Antilles and the French Caribbean,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000 . C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2000), p.319 [6] A. Smith et al., “Status of coral reefs in the Lesser Antilles, Western Atlantic,” in Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 1998. C. Wilkinson, ed. (Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1998), p. 142