Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

Marine and Terrestrial Park

CaribbeanDeclared in 1958456 km²

The first protected marine park of its kind in the world, managed since 1959 with no resource extraction permitted at all

Area

456 km²

Declared in

1958

Region

Caribbean

Climate

Tropical

Ocean

Plan your visit

Area: 456 km²

Highlight

The first protected marine park of its kind in the world, managed since 1959 with no resource extraction permitted at all

Established in 1958 and reckoned by many conservation historians the first fully protected land and sea park in the world, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park has banned since its founding any extraction of natural resources — fishing, shell or coral collecting — across the whole of its territory, a model of complete protection that served as a reference for the design of later marine parks around the world. Reachable only by private boat, with no tourist accommodation within its boundaries, it protects one of the last healthy populations of the Northern Bahamian rock iguana, endemic and listed as endangered.

Location

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3 dive sites within 300 km are also shown.

51 species documented in Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

6 Mammals2 Birds2 Reptiles7 Cartilaginous fish16 Fish3 Malacostraca3 Anthozoa2 Hydrozoa3 Gastropoda2 Echinoidea1 Demospongiae2 Polychaeta1 Scyphozoa1 Bivalvia

At conservation risk:Tiburón nodriza,Tortuga carey,Tortuga verde,Aguja azul del Atlántico,Chucho pintado,Coral cerebro estriado,Coral cuerno de ciervo,Mero guasa,Tarpón,Tiburón de arrecife del Caribe,Tiburón limón,Tiburón martillo gigante