The health of Haiti’s ocean is an urgent matter, and nobody knows that better than an organization such as ours, which is working directly with local fishermen and focused on endangered marine species, some of which are at the top of the food chain. The best indicators of a healthy ocean are sharks and seabirds – which are not abundant overall in Haiti’s waters or on Haiti’s coastal regions. The lack of shark populations that would normally be found throughout coral reefs, such as the blacktip, Caribbean reef, lemon and bull shark is a very bad sign! More importantly, of those sharks that are still remaining in Haitian waters, such as juvenile oceanic white tip and silky sharks, the need to protect them is at all time high. In addition, other very valuable marine species such as sea turtles and stingrays are being killed daily, and in some areas such as Grand Boucan, in the thousands. Even marine mammals at times are the victim of abuse and torture, leading to their deaths. Two recent incidents involve a baby sperm whale along the Tiburon coast and a juvenile manatee in Grand Boucan.

They simply do not have a presence in these areas. Even more alarming is that some of these areas are designated Marine Protected Areas, some classified as MPA’s for years, without any plan of action in operation. We, Haiti Ocean Project, are the only organization making an effort to help these marine species and work with these local fishermen to try and save Haiti’s marine ecosystem.