By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian fishermen have been recruited to play a pivotal role in collecting data that will be used to improve hurricane forecasting and early warning systems.

A new programme aims to strengthen hurricane intensity forecasting by establishing a network of Bahamian fishing vessels that will collect data on ocean temperatures at various surface levels. This information will be passed on to forecasters to enhance predictive models.

The initiative, a collaboration between the Environmental Defense Fund, the Department of Meteorology and the Ocean Data Network, was launched in 2024.

Jeffrey Simmons, director of the Department of Meteorology, said the data collected by the fishing vessels provides the “missing pieces” that forecasters need for hurricane modelling. He hopes the initiative will expand throughout the region.

“The data they are collecting is very important to us, especially when it comes to forecasting hurricanes. The data is eventually fed into hurricane models, and it gives us an idea of where warm pools of water exist in and near The Bahamas. These warm pools are considered to be responsible, or at least partly responsible, for rapid intensification of hurricanes,” said Mr Simmons.

“This information is collected in their shore waters, and it’s the missing pieces of our ocean data that we really need. The work the fishermen do is very vital, it’s very important, and we’re really happy to have them on board doing this work for us, and hope that we can get more to join us, not only here in The Bahamas, but throughout the Caribbean region.”

Since the initiative began, more than 2,600 depth profiles have been collected by participating fishing vessels. Thirteen boats were initially equipped with sensors to gather ocean temperature data as they traversed the waters around Andros, New Providence, Eleuthera, Moore’s Island, Crooked Island, Long Island and Grand Bahama.

Brandon Bethel, small island sustainability programme coordinator at the University of The Bahamas, said using fishing vessels is a cost-effective and efficient way to improve the country’s hurricane forecasting capabilities.

He explained that specialized scientific vessels, which are traditionally used to measure water temperatures at different depths, can cost up to $100,000 per day. By contrast, using existing fishing vessels significantly reduces the cost of data collection.

“The sensors collect water temperature at different depths and so when we attach those to, for example, the traps that these fishermen use to catch lobsters, it will read the different temperatures of the water as it goes down, and then again when it comes up,” said Dr Bethel.

“This is also very cost effective because the scientific vessels used to collect ocean data can cost up to $100,000 per day, so by recruiting these fishermen we are getting accurate data as they sail and do their daily work and saving funds.”

With the 2025 hurricane season underway, Dr Bethel is assisting with implementing ocean observation systems for The Bahamas, including establishing a local data portal and identifying specific use cases.