New Marine Lab Progressing through Cabinet; to Remember Leroy Brooks

By Shanieka Smith

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, April 21, 2023 – The plan to build a state-of-the-art Marine and Fisheries Laboratory in Turks and Caicos was approved by the Cabinet on April 5, 2023.  The Ministry of Tourism said this was not only going to be beneficial to the Turks and Caicos Islands, but the entire Caribbean Community should now expect top-quality services from this lab.

Researchers say, creation of marine laboratories is another important development because it provides to marine scientists a place to conduct research and process specimens from expeditions.

Marine labs have enabled the discovery of new species and habitats, bringing valuable clarity to challenges underwater including threats and telling the stories of what happened, when and how to inform high level decisions about marine spaces.

The laboratory in the Turks and Caicos Islands will be named in honour of the late Clifford Leroy Brooks, who died in January 2020.

Leroy Brooks was described as a hardworking and dedicated civil servant, having dedicated over 30 years of civil service to the Turks and Caicos Government.  He joined the civil service in 1987 as a Fisheries Officer and acted as the Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer in 1990, 1991 and 1992.  He became the officer in charge of South Caicos on July 1st, 1997 and on November 1st, 2001 was appointed to the post of Senior Conservation Officer, before being promoted to the post of Deputy Chief Conservation Officer on September 1st, 2004 and to the post of Assistant Director of Fisheries, Protected Areas and Revenue Collection on April 1st, 2015.