This week, my op-ed was published in both The Nassau Guardian and The Tribune under the headline “The Bahamas at a crossroads: Short-term gains or long-term sustainability?”

In it, I lay out why the Yntegra-Rosewood Sampson Cay Project represents the wrong path for The Bahamas. This development is a textbook example of short-term gain at the expense of our national future. It risks fisheries, seagrass, reefs, and the very character of the central Exuma cays, while offering little benefit to Bahamians themselves. It’s density, with mega-marinas, a massive seawall across a living bay, and dredging would have significant negative impacts on habitats that took decades to form. 

You can read my full piece on the Nassau Guardian’s website here. 

I am not the only one speaking out, more voices are joining the public conversation about this project. Recently, conservationist, Kim Aranha wrote a moving letter to the Tribune titled “Dear Sampson Cay” recalling her memories on the island and remembering the cay’s natural beauty and intimacy, and warning that dredging away seagrass nurseries for mega-yachts will erase the very magic that makes The Bahamas special.

Zoe Olivia Brown, a Bahamian PhD student at Oxford, in a letter titled “Rosewood Fear” wrote passionately about how dredging reefs and seagrass will threaten food security, culture, and resilience. She reminded us that these ecosystems are our first line of defense against storms and climate change and destroying them is reckless.

These voices are helping keep Exuma in the national spotlight. 

Now I encourage you to add your voice. Write your own letter to the editors of The Tribune or The Nassau Guardian. Share why you support the Save Exuma Alliance and why this project cannot be allowed to continue.

Every voice matters. Together, we can keep Sampson Cay at the center of national attention and demand real protection for Exuma.

Thank you for staying in this fight.

Eric Carey