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Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago

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Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago is located in Cuba
Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago
Location of Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago in Cuba

The Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago (Spanish: Archipiélago de Sabana-Camagüey) (SCA) is an archipelago off Cuba's north-central Atlantic coast of the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey,[1] and is bounded to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, specifically the Nicholas Channel (Sabana segment) and Old Bahama Channel (Camagüey segment).

Geography

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The archipelago is oriented on a general north-west to south-east axis, and stretches for 465 kilometres (289 mi)[1][2][3] or 475 kilometres (295 mi)[4] from the Hicacos Peninsula and Varadero to the Bay of Nuevitas, with a maximum width of 50 kilometres (31 mi).[2] The entire system covers more than 8,311 square kilometres (3,209 sq mi)[2] and is composed of 2515[2] or approximately 2517[4] cays and islets. The eastern islands are grouped in the Jardines del Rey archipelago, and include Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Romano, among others.[5][6]

Conservation

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The SCA contains 22 Protected Natural Areas (PNA): "two National Parks (NP), five Ecological Reserves (ER), nine Wildlife Refuges (WR), one Featured Natural Element (FNE), three Protected Areas of Managed Resources (PAMR), and two Managed Floristic Reserves (MFR) ... on coastal sections, keys, islets or marine waters".[2] The Sabana-Camagüey ecosystem includes the Bay of Buena Vista Biosphere Reserve[3] and Caguanes National Park.[7] In 1997, the archipelago was designated the second Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.[8] Cayos Romano-Cruz-Megano Grande IBA, comprising cayos Romano and Cruz and many other cays and islets, is an Important Bird Area.[9]

Construction of tourism infrastructure has caused serious ecological damage. In the San Juan de los Remedios and Buenavista bays, it is responsible for "a major increase in water salinity that could potentially lead to the disappearance of 60 marine species" and raised the already high salinity of Bahía de los Perros by 80%, causing deterioration of the sea bottom. The region has also seen the loss of over 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of mangroves. On Cayo Coco, tourism has severely affected the "most significant breeding ground of the roseate spoonbill and the greater flamingo.[10] Beach erosion is also a problem.[10]

Visual census surveys conducted in 1988–1989 and 2000 found a 2/3 reduction in fish density and biomass on coral reefs.[11]

Marine debris from heavy sea traffic through the Old Bahama Channel is a concern.[12]

The coastal and marine ecosystem of the archipelago is undergoing conservation projects supported by the Global Environment Facility and Environment Canada.[13] Mangroves and coastal forests effectively create a buffer zone between the agricultural coast and the sensitive marine environment.[1]

Economic activity and potential

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The region is Cuba's second-richest fishing ground,[10] and fishing—commercial, for self-consumption and recreational—is the main employer of various local communities.[2]

Native species with potential for aquaculture include "sessile bivalve mollusks, such as oysters of the family Ostreidae, mussels of the family Mytilidae, and clams of the families Veneridae and Arcidae ... the sea cucumber, sponges, and some marine algae."[2]

Partial list of cays

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See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 Radio Habana. "El ecosistema Sabana Camaguey" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ortega-Rubio, Alfredo, ed. (2020). Socio-ecological Studies in Natural Protected Areas. Springer. pp. 275–276. ISBN 978-3-030-47263-4. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Small Island, Big Results". United Nations Development Programme. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 Mapping Interactivo (March 2005). "Mangroves variability in the Sabana-Camaguay Archipellago". Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
  5. ↑ "Jardines del Rey: More Than an Archipelago, a Paradise". CubaPLUS. 31 March 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  6. ↑ M. Belén Gómez-Martín; Felipe Matos Pupo; Reynier Bada Diaz; Daynier Escalante-Pérez (November 2020). "Assessing Present and Future Climate Conditions for Beach Tourism in Jardines del Rey (Cuba) (Context in source publication)". Atmosphere. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Parque Nacional Caguanes". UNESCO. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas". International Maritime Organization. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Wege, David C.; Anadon-Irizarri, Veronica (2008). Important Bird Areas in the Caribbean. Birdlife International. p. 135. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Romero, Aldemaro; West, Sarah E., eds. (2005). Environmental Issues in Latin American and the Caribbean. Springer. pp. 279–280. ISBN 978-1-4020-3773-3. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Rodolfo Claro; Karel Cantelar; Fabián Pina Amargós; Juan P. Garcia-Artíaga (2007). "Changes in fish communities of coral reefs at Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago, Cuba". Revista de Biología Tropical. 55: 537. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "GIWA Regional Assessments: Caribbean Islands: ..." Högskolan i Kalmar (Kalmar University). p. 41. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Environment Cuba. "Sabana-Camaguey Project" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2007.

23°00′N 80°00′W / 23.000°N 80.000°W / 23.000; -80.000 (Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago)

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