Recent News
Bermuda Turtle Project Celebrating 50 YearsThursday, April 05, 2018
The Bermuda Turtle Project [BTP] said they are “excited to be kicking-off our 50th celebrations in conjunction with the Bermuda Post Office release of a First Day Cover stamp issue featuring sea turtles of Bermuda and our 50 years of work.”
‘Whale Found Distressed With Entanglement’
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
On Monday [April 2], a local vessel reported a “migrating whale found distressed with entanglement in rope or wire” and it was concluded that Bermuda at this time, “lacked the necessary specialist equipment to assist the whale.”
Video: Family Films Hammerhead Shark
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
A family said they found themselves privy to a rare sight as they paddle boarded close to Flatts Inlet recently, as a shark made a surprisingly close approach that they were able to catch on video, which went viral after being posted on social media.
A Team Tackles a Troublesome Fish
Thursday, March 15, 2018
It is often said that good things come in groups of three, and that might be the case for a trio of research projects aimed at reducing a recent, but growing, threat to Bermuda’s marine biodiversity: the invasive lionfish.
Photos: BZS Participants Get Their ‘Zoom’ On
Thursday, March 15, 2018
This past Sunday, 11th March, over 450 fundraisers biked, ran, walked, paddle boarded and rowed in the Bermuda Zoological Society’s [BZS] annual Zoom Around the Sound race.
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All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
By Cooper Stevenson
Published Jul 1, 2014 at 8:00 am
A Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) at Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo. Photo Mark Tatem.
Anecdotal reports on the numbers of predatory reef fish following the weekend’s Reef Watch survey are “not good”, according to Bermuda Zoological Society chief scientist Thad Murdoch.
While Dr Murdoch and the Reef Watch teams still have to analyse the data collected over the weekend, he said a lack of predatory fish on the reefs was not a good sign for predatory fish populations, which play a key role in keeping other fish species in-check.
“Certainly this year and last year people saw much fewer predatory fish than one would expect, based on what a healthy reef should have,” said Dr Murdoch.
“We still have to process this year’s data, but people were mentioning how they hadn’t seen one snapper or one grouper on a whole reef. That’s not good. People should be seeing 40 or 50 snappers and grouper on a reef.”
Around 20 boats carrying volunteer “citizen scientists” this weekend ventured out onto Bermuda’s reefs as part of the annual survey, raising more than $24,000.
Reef Watch — a community environmental monitoring and fundraising project run by Bermuda Zoological Society — aims to advance local knowledge on the health and abundance of critical species of fish and coral in Bermuda.
“What we’re doing is getting people to learn how to identify what a healthy reef looks like and we teach them what types of fish should be on a reef and what kind of abundances they should be seeing, so when they go out to a reef they can tell whether the reef is really healthy or if its not in good shape,” said Dr Murdoch.
However, Dr Murdoch said that reports on reef health were positive. “It sounded like coral health was good. Last year [Reef Watch] was right after a very hot summer, so coral bleaching was a threat and people did actually see it. This year, because it’s the beginning of summer, we didn’t expect people to see bleaching and from what I heard, I don’t think people did.”
In addition to collecting critical data on reef health and fish populations, participants also raised $24,573 in funds for the ongoing protection and conservation of Bermuda’s coral reefs, more than $3,000 compared to Reef Watch 2013.