Opinion Piece From the Royal Gazette - April 22nd

REPRINT of Royal Gazette Opinion Piece by Nonsuch Expeditions Founder J-P Rouja

Bermuda's government has an opportunity to do something historic — to commit to stronger marine protections and secure the future of our ocean for generations to come. I am writing to make the case, simply and directly, that it must seize it.

After I moved back home in 2000, I began organising expeditions for visiting film crews and had the privilege of working alongside some of the world's most renowned marine conservationists. A comment I heard repeatedly from divers who have explored ecosystems across the globe — people such as Sylvia Earle and the Cousteaus — stayed with me: “Nice corals, but where are your fish?”

They were not being polite. They were telling us something we already knew but had not fully reckoned with.

Conversations with the late Teddy Tucker, whose extraordinary life documenting Bermuda's underwater world is captured in the must-watch documentary Shark Country, confirmed what many of us had suspected. His generation witnessed massive declines under the post-war tourism boom — increasing extraction, collapsing stocks and the near-complete disappearance of sharks from Bermuda's reefs. Not gradual. Not subtle. Gone.

Setting aside debates about how best to protect what remains, one thing should not be in dispute: we are far worse off today than a generation ago, who were in turn worse off than the generation before them.

The challenge is that we don't always see it. Each generation inherits a new baseline — a diminished ocean that feels normal simply because it is all we have known. I experienced this myself. I spent my early teenage summers in the late 1970s working on one of the largest fish pot vessels operating out of Bermuda. After hauling up our offshore pots at the Argus and Challenger seamounts, we often had to speed away to escape the sharks following us, which is no longer a problem … Even then, they rarely saw them on the reef platform. The sharks were already retreating. I personally have not seen a shark on the platform — ever.

What we were doing to the ecosystem was devastating, though we didn't fully understand it at the time. The oversized pots brought everything to the surface. If you'd eat it, it was sold whole. If you wouldn’t normally want to eat it, it was filleted. If it was too small or inedible, it went into a meat grinder, then mesh bags for bait. Parrotfish were taken at massive scale. Nothing that reached the surface was returned alive.

A decade later, after considerable controversy, the pots were banned and parrotfish were fully protected. The results speak for themselves. For the first time in decades, parrotfish are returning in large pods and schools — and their grazing is almost certainly a key reason our reefs remain relatively healthy, keeping algae in check when corals are under stress. Red hinds and black grouper are also recovering, their known breeding grounds now seasonally protected. Protection works. The evidence is right in front of us.

But the picture is not uniformly hopeful. The other five grouper species — including the once-abundant Nassau grouper — were pushed past their tipping point before protections arrived. They have not recovered. They are rarely seen, if ever. And for those who fish these waters: do you know how Hogfish Beacon got its name? It was apparently named for the hundreds of hogfish historically seen there. In my own lifetime, even as a teenager, I never saw more than two or three together at a time …

That is the true measure of where we are. Not the reefs we have, but the reefs we have lost. Not the fish we see, but the ones that should be there and aren't.

The concerns about livelihoods and access are legitimate and deserve to be heard. But they cannot be the end or the only conversation. The history of our own waters proves that protection and recovery are possible — but only if we act before species pass the point of no return. Nassau grouper did not get that chance.

Doing nothing is not a neutral act. It is a choice to continue a pattern of decline that has defined each successive generation's experience of these waters for the past half century. Our children deserve to inherit a living ocean, not a historical record of what used to be here.

I am not comfortable speaking out, and am usually found behind the camera amplifying others’ voices, which I shall continue to do. However, I believe that at this point the traditionally silent majority needs to speak up.

Protection works. We know it because we have seen it in our own waters, in our own lifetimes. The reefs are speaking. It is time to listen. And to support these efforts.

• JP Rouja is a photographer, film-maker and conservation tech developer, and founder of Nonsuch Expeditions

Bermuda’s blue parrotfish: Viral United Nations Ocean Conference Campaign

Bermuda’s blue parrotfish were spread virally throughout the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in Nice with a message:  Protect the Parrotfish - Protect the Reef

“Several years ago for the UN and other global ocean conferences, I started creating stickers using wildlife photography from the Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve’s flora and fauna to promote Bermuda’s biodiversity.”  J-P Rouja, Nonsuch Expeditions Founder & Media Producer

J-P Rouja & Dr. Sylvia Earle

“One of the most popular images was the blue parrotfish, which I then used to create a small batch of lapel pins. These quickly became a favorite amongst our collaborators and supporters — including ‘Her Deepness’, the legendary ocean researcher and activist, Dr. Sylvia Earle (with whom I am an Ambassador for the Sargasso Sea Commission) — and soon the pins were a collectors item featured on the event lanyards of many iconic conservationists and politicians.

This year, the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, gathered ocean advocates, scientists, and politicians from over 200 nations. To build on the momentum, I printed a batch of several hundred 1.5” parrotfish stickers to tag the conference ID badges of friends, collaborators, youth leaders, and like-minded conservationists. This proved highly successful and they gained widespread popularity throughout the conference appearing on badges, phone cases and in event-related imagery.

Whilst the blue parrotfish is a stunning image in and of itself, parrotfish have ecological significance in Bermuda and beyond for protecting the reef. In Bermuda, parrotfish are also a conservation and fisheries management success story.

Parrotfish are considered keystone species for coral reef ecosystems, meaning they are critical to the health of the coral and other life. They not only clean algae from corals, keeping them healthy, but they also help produce the fine sand that Bermuda’s beaches are famous for, though natural erosion, calciferous algae, and single-celled organisms called foraminifera, (which makes our sand pink), also play part in that process.

Despite their importance to the health of our reefs, they were routinely caught and sold as filet by the larger commercial fishing operators in the 1970’s and 80’s, prior to the commercial finned fish pot ban.  As the industry scaled up to larger vessels and much larger pots it was decimating key reef species and virtually collapsed the entire reef fish ecosystem. 

Now, some 30+ years after a subsequent fish pot ban, (whilst other types of fishing is still permitted) the ecosystem has yet to recover properly, with many previously targeted species still commercially extinct, and Bermuda has a lower than expected level of fish biomass found on our otherwise relatively healthy reefs.

A common observation, from world renowned ocean experts, the Cousteaus that I hosted here a few years ago is a perfect example who stated after coming up from a dive: “It's nice to see your healthy corals, but where are your fish?”

In the 80s during my early teens, I spent several summers working as a deckhand for one of the worst offenders. Operating from a larger vessel he took the traditional artesian style 3ft x 3ft pots that could be hauled by hand, and scaled them up to long strings of 10ft x 10ft death-trap pots that could ingest whole schools of fish. I can speak from experience that literally everything larger than the holes in the wire mesh, that entered the traps was pulled to the surface and died. If you would want to eat it (i.e., grouper, snapper, etc.) it was cleaned and sold whole. If you wouldn’t necessarily want to eat it (i.e., parrotfish., etc.) it was sold as filet. If it was too small or inedible, it was thrown into a meat grinder and turned into lobster bait. Seeing our reef fish devastated was an experience I shall never forget and part of the reason why I am now committed to advocate for ocean health and develop tools for sustainable fisheries management and ocean conservation.

A few years later, in 1993, alongside the banning of (finned) fishpots, an outright ban on the fishing of parrotfish was put in place. Although unpopular at the time, more than 30 years later Bermuda is seeing the recovery of many species of parrotfish with spawning aggregations being observed for the first time in decades. Some of these are now found schooling in relative abundance on our reef platform, including giant 2 to 3 ft specimens routinely swimming between tourists feet at popular beaches, a sight unheard of in most of the world where they are still targeted as food. 

The Parrotfish is Bermuda’s testament that fisheries management works, but we need to take it further than just focusing on one species and consider our reef eco-systems as a whole. 

Whilst Bermuda is still in the midst of a drawn out process to establish marine protected areas (MPAs), the lessons learned from our historical targeted protection of species, such as the outright ban on catching parrotfish, and seasonal protection of spawning aggregation sites for red hind and black grouper show that our reefs are resilient when given a chance, and species can recover. Yet, there is a tipping point where it is too late for the ocean and specific species to bounce back, (in our case several species of once abundant grouper, like the Nassau, never recovered), which is why it’s important for us to take further action to protect our reefs worldwide.

In the case of the parrotfish, their recovery is arguably one of many factors why our reef remains relatively healthy (despite the general lack of fish) as their continuous grazing helps keep the algae in check which can otherwise stress a reef, and during extreme events can overwhelm corals before they have time to recover.

It is therefore my humble opinion and suggestion that we should work to protect our reefs as a whole, in a way that is implemented and enforced. And where this is not possible, then at the very least, spawning aggregations should not be targeted, and protecting parrotfish and other grazers should be considered.” 

*These are personal opinions based upon decades of observations in Bermuda. I fully appreciate that these are complex issues, and there may be locations where excessive grazing by parrotfish negatively impact corals when they in turn are not kept in check by apex predators such as sharks. However, this shows a larger imbalance to the health of our reefs, that we should work together to restore.

Protect the Parrotfish - Protect the Reef.

J-P Rouja | Founder > Nonsuch Expeditions | Co-Founder > BioQuest & Station-B

‘Ocean with David Attenborough’ Premiered Ahead of United Nations Ocean Conference

Bermuda’s ocean champions gathered last week for the Bermuda premiere of Ocean with David Attenborough, hosted as a private event by The Nonsuch Expeditions and presented by 10percent for the Ocean and the Sargasso Sea Commission at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. 

The event drew a full house, with many prominent figures from Bermuda’s marine conservation, scientific research, and advocacy communities. Among the distinguished guests were government officials and dignitaries, including the Hon. Jaché Adams, JP, MP, Minister of Public Works and the Environment; the Hon. Kim Wilkerson, JP, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; the U.S. Consul General Antoinette Hurtado, and the acting Deputy Governor.

"It was a privilege to attend this important screening and engage with others committed to protecting our ocean as marine conservation remains a priority for the Government,” said the Hon. Jaché Adams, JP, MP, Minister of Public Works and the Environment. “I want to thank all of the organisers and sponsors for their efforts and look forward to working collaboratively to help ensure the sustainable use of Bermuda’s marine resources for generations to come," 

“This vital film has been four years in the making and reflects the collective effort of hundreds of people working together to spark a profound shift in how we protect the ocean,” said Jasper Smith, founder of 10% for the Ocean, one of the film’s producers. “It is a sobering truth that we spend 100 times more on ice cream than we do on ocean conservation. Through 10% for the Ocean, we’re calling on individuals, businesses and foundations to take the 10% pledge — by committing just 10% of your annual giving to the ocean, we can end the most destructive forms of fishing, restore marine ecosystems, and bring the ocean’s former abundance back to life.” 

Jean-Pierre Rouja, founder of The Nonsuch Expeditions, had previous experience working with Doug Anderson, director of underwater photography for ’Ocean’, as well as co-producer Silverback Films. In 2015 the team worked together in Bermuda for a month to produce a Sargasso Fish sequence for the BBC Natural History Hunt series — which was also narrated by David Attenborough.  “We spent nine months of prep work and several weeks of filming to secure the three minutes of footage that made its way onto the screen, which is quite common for productions like this,” said Rouja. “We have also joined the 10% for the Ocean effort, as their mission aligns with ours, and should be seriously considered by the Bermuda philanthropic community.”

“The message is clear: the ocean's health is essential to the health of the planet,” said Dr. David Freestone, executive secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission. “We know the threats, and we know that tools like area-based management can help. Now it is up to us to collaborate and put measures in place to ensure these iconic areas keep functioning as they should.”

The screening was also a timely opportunity to highlight Bermuda’s commitment to ocean stewardship ahead of the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France (June 9–13) and was followed by an engaging panel discussion with local ocean science experts. 

Panel speakers included Dr. Mark Guishard, COO of ASU-BIOS; Jean-Pierre Rouja, founder of Nonsuch Expeditions, co-founder of BioQuest and Station-B; Jessica Mello, blue economy expert at Blue Bridges; and Fae Sapsford, marine research fellow for the Sargasso Sea Commission. The panel was moderated by Ali Hochberg, sustainability consultant and responsible tourism specialist. 

Discussions centred around: 

• Bermuda’s history of important contributions to ocean and atmospheric science. Using decades of oceanographic measurements collected by time-series programs run by ASU-BIOS, we have increased our fundamental understanding of baselines conditions in the ocean, the ocean’s role in the climate system, and how the ocean is responding to a changing global climate.

• Development and application of cutting-edge ocean science technologies. Recent examples include passive acoustic sensors for monitoring and protecting marine species; specialised modular sensors for coral reef assessment and management; and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and sequencing in partnership with local non-profit BioQuest.

• The potential for growth in Bermuda’s blue economy. Blue economy industries such as marine tourism, renewable energy, and food production can be further developed in Bermuda through targeted investments in technology, data, and finance, along with the implementation of strong legal and regulatory frameworks to protect vital ocean resources.

• Tools for ocean protection. Marine protected areas are regions of the ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims. There are a variety of other area based tools for ocean protection, such as the scientific designation of ‘important marine mammal areas’ that highlight critical habitat for cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), which can be used as a starting point for the discussion of conservation measures. 

• Protecting marine life in the open ocean. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement is a recently adopted international treaty with the objective to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including the Sargasso Sea — where the Bermuda Government is playing a leading role in conservation through its ongoing collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission.

The event was sponsored by Butterfield & Vallis, The Loren, and conservation patrons Brining and Lampit, and presented by 10% for the Ocean — one of the film’s producers in collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission, with support from The Nonsuch Expeditions

Where have all our Sharks Gone? Watch “Shark Country”, featuring Teddy Tucker.

PLEASE WATCH THIS FILM

One of the starkest examples of change on our reef is the disappearance of the once ubiquitous sharks.

Teddy Tucker has been described as a Bermuda National Treasure. Peter Benchley, author of Jaws and The Deep, described his close friend, Teddy as a walking encyclopedia: 'A master of every discipline having to do with history and the ocean. One of the great autodidacts in the history of science.’

Teddy mused that: ‘a day not spent in the underwater world, a day not spent diving, would seem to me a day lost, wasted and empty’. This love of the ocean was married to a hunger for knowledge, a sharp mind and a photographic memory.

Teddy Tucker, best known as a shipwreck hunter and underwater explorer was first and foremost a fisherman. On a fishing trip in 1994 he was asked for his thoughts on changes he had witnessed over his time fishing off Bermuda. One of the starkest examples of change on the reef is the disappearance the once ubiquitous sharks.

Other fishermen and hunters share their observations of further change they have experienced over the past 30 years. Together with Teddy they stand as witnesses to the decline in Bermuda's marine environment gleaned over years of consistent free diving and scuba diving on the island's reef.

Jean-Pierre Rouja > Nonsuch Expeditions Founder: “The almost complete disappearance of sharks from Bermuda’s eco-system as highlighted in this film, simply can’t be ignored.

Despite all of the ongoing debates regarding how much of, and how best to protect the remaining life that we have left in our waters, there should be no question that we are far worse off now than we were a generation ago.

However, the challenge with personally observing changes in the ocean is that each successive generation has a shifting baseline of what is normal, and even then we don’t always notice gradual changes over time. Whilst those of us who spend time on and under the water will have seen changes within our lifetimes, predominantly for the negative, (though at times positive with recoveries possible when reasonable rules are put in place and enforced), no one can deny the fact that we no longer have sharks on our reefs, along with the cascading impact of losing these Apex predators…

Though obviously not to the same degree, I personally have seen this, which is one of the reasons I am so involved in ocean conservation today. I spent my teenage summers in the early 80’s working on one of the last large fishpot vessels, and at the time after hauling up our offshore Argus and Challenger seamount fish pots we often had to speed to the next location to get away from the sharks that were following us for fear that they might accidentally interfere with our gear when we dropped it back over… Even at that time though, we rarely, if ever, saw them on the reef platform.”

Our condolences to the Tucker family for the recent passing of Edna.