Underwater Eyes will help TCI see how to protect its marine life

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TheTurksandCaicos, December 1, 2022 – The Turks and Caicos was recently gifted several Baited Remote Underwater Video Cameras (BRUVs) as part of the UKs Blue Belt Program.

The announcement was made by Governor Nigel Dakin on Instagram on November 18th, less than a month prior to the start of the Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity or COP 15 where countries will lobby for funding to preserve their plants, animals and sea life.

Dakin explained the purpose of the new technology.

“The BRUVs are baited camera systems that are deployed underwater, 200-250 m apart for an hour at a time. They take a snapshot of the area and aid in understanding fish population, status of species, marine biodiversity hotspots, and how well marine parks are performing,” he said.

TCI islanders across several departments have been trained to use the equipment and the first deployment has already been completed.

“With these new resources and added skillset, TCIG will have a broader capacity to study and monitor the wide complexity of marine life inhabiting the TCI waters,” Dakin maintained.

In addition to that, Blue Belt Programme protected area specialists were also in the Turks and Caicos recently for stakeholder meetings on several protected areas in Providenciales and Grand Turk which the governor said were well attended.