Portland Bight is an area of water and protected coastline about 1.5 hours drive outside of Kingston. In 1999 the Jamaican government designated the area as a marine sanctuary to protect a wide variety of endemic species including birds, reptiles, and freshwater and marine life. I had already learnt a little about local conservation efforts through the very interesting blog posts of my new friend, Emma Lewis, writer and blogger, Petchary, on her blog at https://petchary.wordpress.com. I had followed her posts for about a year before we arrived in Kingston, after searching for interesting Jamaican bloggers who could teach me more about our future home. Latham was looking for a subject for his new documentary and Emma kindly introduced him to the wonderful staff at C-CAM (the Caribbean Costal Area Management Foundation), an organization that works tireless to keep the Portand Bight waters protected, to educate local fishermen on the importance of protecting their waters, and help them find new, sustainable ways of making an income through activities such as ecotourism. Its an uphill battle, but they are making headway and Emma’s blog offers much interesting further reading on the sanctuary’s challenges:
https://petchary.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/touring-portland-bight-part-i-old-harbour-bay/
https://petchary.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/touring-portland-bight-part-2-salt-river/
Our day trip down to Portland Bight was less informed and very exploratory for two people who had just arrived in the country. C-CAM staff kindly gave Latham a tour of the area and an opportunity to meet some of the locals. We drove miles and miles down lonely, single-track roads through acres of dry coastal forest and scrub. The two-year drought had left the vegetation extremely brown, and C-CAM pointed out low-lying areas and swamp that had completely receded or dried out. As we drove around, we were flagged down by people who knew the truck. They reported problems or sightings: distressed or dead animals, or conflict on over illegal harvesting in the forest. On a nearby beach, a fisherman reported seeing a dead crocodile.
It was extraordinary to tour the area with an environmentalist. We saw the day-to-day challenges that the organization faced, and the story of the local fishermen’s struggle started to form in Latham’s mind. I’m sure a post will follow on his documentary, which is in post-production now. The trip left me with a first impression of the real Jamaica, an appreciation of the work that C-CAM does, and a desire to go back and learn more.
What a wonderfully rich perspective in to a part of Jamica not readily available to us! Fasinating. RIP Mr. Alligator
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Wonderful photos – it is such a quiet place, isn’t it, a completely different world. I so hope it stays that way, despite the threat of a huge megaport, etc. I am so happy that you got to know the C-CAM folks – they are lovely and do a great job. Looking forward to seeing Latham’s documentary, very much! Thank you for the mention of my blog, too! #savegoatislands
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Thanks Claudia. I hear that Jamaica has a lot of varied scenery and we have only seen a little so far. More to come!
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Emma – Will send you a private link to the documentary when its available. Have a wonderful Christmas!
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Thank you, and you too!
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Looks very peaceful. And there’s the “real” ray!
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Glad you spotted it!
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Reblogged this on Concierge Librarian.
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Reblogged this on Petchary's Blog and commented:
Here is a wonderful post from my friend Caroline Wright, who is now living in Jamaica. We got to know each other via our blogs – I was fascinated by her experiences in Nepal (and then there was the earthquake…) I love this post and fabulous photos about an area very dear to my heart, the Portland Bight Protected Area. Goat Islands (STILL threatened by a Chinese megaport, and still little information on the planned “development”) is a part of this wild and beautiful area… I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and we look forward to Latham’s documentary on the fishermen of the area.
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Thank you so much! We are heading to London tonight (our flight just got delayed 7 hrs ;o(… but excited to go and see you when I get back!
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great posts, happy christmas x
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Thanks. Same to you!
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