Small Micaela, Oxenford Hazel A
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, BB11000, Barbados.
Ocean Coast Manag. 2022 Oct 1;229:106332. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106332. Epub 2022 Aug 23.
The Government of Barbados welcomed cruise ships during the early COVID-19 period of 2020, allowing them to seek safe harbour at a time when many countries were turning them away. A total of 28 cruise ships were given unprecedented permission to anchor along the west and south coasts of the island during this period (1 March – 1 September 2020). This study examines the 132 anchoring events of these cruise ships, using automatic identification system (AIS) data to determine anchored locations and track vessel swing at anchor in relation to sensitive coral-rich habitat. These data, together with SCUBA surveys on several anchoring sites were used to describe the nature of the habitat damage and to assess the potential area of impacts on coastal marine habitats. The huge anchors and hundreds of metres of chain required to secure these mega-vessels, together with their typical wide swinging motion dragging the anchor chain over the bottom are estimated to have caused thousands of square metres of structural damage to the island’s valuable coral reefs. This study revealed weaknesses in coral conservation policy and practise to which the Government of Barbados has responded. A stated new Government policy prohibits cruise ships from anchoring on the coral-rich west coast and restricts anchoring to the designated anchorage on the south coast. Additional cruise ships that cannot be accommodated in the anchorage are now being asked to use their dynamic positioning system or to drift offshore.
在2020年新冠疫情初期，巴巴多斯政府欢迎游轮停靠，在许多国家拒绝游轮停靠之际，允许它们前来寻求安全港湾。在此期间（2020年3月1日至9月1日），共有28艘游轮获得前所未有的许可，在该岛的西海岸和南海岸抛锚。本研究通过自动识别系统（AIS）数据，对这些游轮的132次抛锚事件进行了分析，以确定抛锚位置，并追踪船只相对于富含珊瑚的敏感栖息地的锚泊摆动情况。这些数据，连同对几个抛锚地点的水肺潜水调查，被用于描述栖息地破坏的性质，并评估对沿海海洋栖息地的潜在影响区域。据估计，用于固定这些巨型船只的巨大锚和数百米长的链条，以及它们典型的大幅度摆动，使锚链在海底拖动，已对该岛珍贵的珊瑚礁造成了数千平方米的结构破坏。本研究揭示了珊瑚保护政策和实践中的薄弱环节，巴巴多斯政府已对此作出回应。新公布的政府政策禁止游轮在富含珊瑚的西海岸抛锚，并将抛锚限制在南海岸的指定锚地。现在，无法在锚地停靠的其他游轮被要求使用其动态定位系统或在近海漂流。
