Bon Accord lagoon, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Sea

The extensive seagrass community in Bon Accord Lagoon is home to lobsters, crabs, queen conch, shrimp, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, starfishes, and an array of snails, anemones and sponges. Juvenile reef fish such as goatfish, hogfish, parrotfish, butterfly fish, doctor fish and even seahorses, can be found. And even endangered sea turtle species, such as the hawksbill and green turtle, graze on sea grasses around Trinidad and Tobago.

However seagrass across Trinidad and Tobago are ver more threatened by coastal development due to the increase in tourism around the islands. Bon Accord Lagoon has already suffered from the increase in sewage from these developments and more are planned. Moreover, soil runoff from land during the wet season is increasingly responsible for smothering seagrass beds. Physically, seagrass beds get ploughed by recreational boat propellers and anchors. More development shall mean more damage at every level. Several seagrass communities in Trinidad and Tobago have already disappeared, such as those in Scotland Bay, Grand Fond Bay (Monos Island), Five Islands, Cocorite in Trinidad, and in Speyside in Tobago.

One significant activity is the current initiative trying to get the Bon Accord Lagoon / Bucco Bay wetland declared as a Ramsar site on the List of Wetlands of International Importance. This would secure their future protection from development and ultimate disappearance.