Community Outreach

When Saving the Blue was founded the board were united on involving the local people of Andros; we hoped to include all that wished to join our adventures. Offering a chance to join a research expedition, a snorkeling trip or to see sharks in the wild were just some of the opportunities we visualized.

Bahamians are typically very afraid of sharks, and the many cannot swim. With this in mind, and with our many years experience, we knew finding people keen to explore with us, wouldn’t be easy. Since our arrival on Andros we’ve spoken to a wealth of individuals keen to join, however with words are easy to say, and actions hard to deliver. We knew gaining peoples trust slowly was key.

Over the last few years we’ve been fortunate to share our time tagging sharks with a number of Bahamians, including two who tagged the shark themselves! We also introduced two local girls to the ocean, one of which was 15 years old and had never been on a boat before. She went on to snorkel with us and finally saw life beneath the waves with a reassuring team firmly by her side.

“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.” Saving the Blue believe in pushing boundaries, and simply offering opportunities to those that appear keen to take them. Changing opinions and perspectives take time, and we are committing to a lifetime of encouragement and perseverance.