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By Nathalie Zenny
Jamaica Program, Pedro Bank Project Manager
The Nature Conservancy

Day 1: Pedro Bank Bound

Kingston to Middle Cay, Pedro Bank

The boat ride from the Coast Guard Headquarters in Port Royal, Kingston, to Middle Cay on Pedro Bank, takes six to ten hours depending on the condition of the seas and the type of boat. We left the dock at 10 p.m. sharp with calm seas under a beautiful and cool moonlit sky. The boat was filled to capacity. Between our team of 5 divers—comprised of Conservancy staff and project partners—the Coast Guard crew, and all of our gear and equipment, it was a tight fit. We bedded down for the night in any available space on the vessel, trusting that our Coast Guard captain would safely deliver us to the Bank by morning.

Originally known as La Vibora (the Viper), Pedro Bank was once a busy and treacherous shipping passage used by seafaring Europeans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The shallow reefs, rocks and shoals laid out in the shape of a gigantic serpent led Spanish mariners to give the area its fiendish name. Archaeologists estimate there are over 300 shipwrecks on the Bank, each of which fell victim in one way or another to La Vibora. Today the Bank is known for its economic and cultural importance. It is the main harvesting ground for Queen Conch in the Caribbean and is highly valued by Jamaica’s fishing community. Fishers have been operating on the Bank and using its small Cays as a base since the 1920s.

Our team traveled to the Bank to conduct a weeklong coral reef survey. The survey was the first of a three-stage rapid ecological assessment (REA) being conducted in the area by the Conservancy and our partners. The Jamaica Fisheries Division requested the Conservancy’s assistance with an evaluation of current ecological and social conditions on the cays and surrounding areas. The information collected in the marine, terrestrial and socio-economic surveys will go a long way in developing a management plan for the Pedro Bank.

For most Jamaicans, the Pedro Bank was unexplored territory. For myself, it was a return to a part of the Jamaican archipelago that I find fascinating and intriguing not only for its marine life but also for its unique mix of people. Life on the Bank is challenging because of its remoteness and lack of facilities. This existence is made only a little less difficult by the ingenuity, perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit of fishermen.

Next: Early Morning Arrival

For more information about Jamaica:

• The Nature Conservancy in Jamaica
  Jamaica's coral reefs, beaches and an extensive coastal plain surround a plateau, rain forests and a backbone of peaks. As Jamaica was never connected with any other land mass, it has a high percentage of unique species.
• Feature: Pedro Bank Photo Slideshow
  View more underwater photos taken during the weeklong coral reef survey on the Pedro Bank.
• Where We Work: The Pedro Bank
  Located approximately 50 miles or 80 kilometers south-southwest of the island of Jamaica the Pedro Bank is one of the country's last remaining healthy marine ecosystems.
• Field Guide: Cockpit Country
  With 5,000 hillocks and valleys rippling across the land, Cockpit Country has been nearly impenetrable for humans—good news for Jamaica's most pristine forests.
• Ecotourism: Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park
  Established in 1990 to provide stricter protection for government land and designated forest reserves. The park covers some 196,000 acres (79,321 hectares) and houses the watershed for the capital city of Kingston, and all communities in the eastern third of Jamaica.
• How You Can Help: Donate Online
  Support conservation by helping to save the last great places in Jamaica.