After the success thus far of this year’s public lectures, the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) is hoping for a ‘three-peat’ with their March lecture on the capture-mark-recapture of bonefish in The Bahamas. The lecture will feature Justin Lewis, who currently works as the Bahamas Initiative Coordinator in Grand Bahama for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
Lewis is a native of Freeport, Grand Bahama and has had a passion for fishing and the ocean from a very young age. This passion led him to St. Francis Xavier University in Canada where he earned his BA in Aquatic Resources with Public Policy and Social Research.
During his undergraduate studies, he took part in a variety of conservation efforts including The Bahamas bonefish tagging programme and juvenile bonefish research. After he completed his undergraduate degree, Lewis moved to the University of York in England where he completed an MSc in Marine Environmental Management.
“We’re thrilled to host Justin Lewis at the Rand Nature Centre for our third public lecture,” said Lakeshia Anderson, Grand Bahama Parks Manager. “We’re hoping to expand the national parks in Grand Bahama, and two of the proposed new Marine Parks will help protect important bonefish flats; as a result this lecture is incredibly timely. We encourage everyone to join us March 17th to learn about bonefish research in The Bahamas, and how these efforts help to conserve bonefish populations.”
As a part of his position, Lewis is in charge of leading expeditions for tagging and monitoring bonefish movements, and as such will present on the topic of “Utilization of capture-mark-recapture of Bonefish as a Management Tool in The Bahamas”.
Bonefish tagging helps to better understand their movements, distribution and abundance, which will support sustaining the $141million industry in The Bahamas. The March public lecture, which will be held at the Rand Nature Centre on East Settler’s Way at 6:30PM, and is free and open to the public.
The Grand Bahama Regional Branch of the BNT encourages everyone in Grand Bahama to attend these series of lectures, and to join the Trust to help protect The Bahamas’ natural resources for future generations.
The Bahamas National Trust was created by an Act of Parliament in 1959 to build and manage the national park system of the Bahamas. Possibly the only non-governmental organization in the world charged with such a responsibility the TRUST, as it is commonly known works daily to conserve and protect the natural resources of The Bahamas, through stewardship and education for present and future generations. There are currently 27 National Parks managed by the TRUST with more than 2 million acres of marine and terrestrial areas protected.
Website: http://www.bnt.bs/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bahamas-National-Trust/25034035861?ref=hl
