For many years the Island Princess, Providenciales’ original beachfront hotel, sat empty, verdant tropical vegetation slowly overgrowing the deserted buildings that once spun so many memories. Emerging from the mists of time is Veranda, a development committed to writing its own memoirs, a story unlike anything else in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Veranda can best be described as a Caribbean coastal community, quite different from the surrounding condominium and resort hotel complexes. Encompassing a mixture of beachfront villas, single-family townhomes and condominium-hotel residences laced with extensive common areas and showcasing the best of local architecture, Veranda strives to satisfy anyone with a hunger for an authentic Caribbean lifestyle.

Veranda’s design and marketing approach is unique as well. Many of the project’s basic concepts evolved from an intense “envisioning session” and its sales program and Discovery Center reflect a storytelling scenario . . . one that describes a vision of a dream-like, oceanfront lifestyle woven within a magical Caribbean environment.

Veranda’s tale is co-authored by a confluence of entities. The property itself is owed and developed by Cherokee Ltd., a company under the leadership of Jeffrey Rosenbaum, known for his resurrections of historic properties around England under the auspices of the W.D. King Group. For assistance with the group’s first Caribbean venture, Rosenbaum partnered with International Hospitality Advisors (IHA), a Miami-based destination resort advisory company. They, in turn, brought into the fold: Playground Destination Properties, the marketing and sales arm of destination real estate for both the Canadian-based Intrawest Company and other select developers; premiere Caribbean architectural firm OBM International’s hospitality design group, and COXCO Ltd., a prominent local construction company.

Sketching Out the Storyline
In mid-July, 2002, representatives from the development team and experts in tourism, travel, and local ecology, history and culture, along with a number of island residents, came together in a series of intense brainstorming sessions to create the vision that would become Veranda. The resulting storyline serves as a roadmap to the future, ensuring that every member of the Veranda team is “reading from the same page.”

The basic plot is simple: Veranda will be a village-based community, with residents’ and guests’ lifestyles focused beyond the beautiful ocean and beachfront to the daily happenings within their neighborhood. Veranda residents will embrace the best of local flavor — be it cuisine, music or arts and crafts — and the architecture will reflect authentic Caribbean influences. And the name? “Veranda” symbolizes the relaxed, sociable atmosphere the term conjures, a mood expected to prevail throughout this sanctuary. At the same time, it refers to the long, covered porches, shaded galleries and floral patios that will effuse the property — perfect vantage points for watching turquoise seas, mesmerizing sunsets and star-filled skies.

Filling in the Details
The nine acre site (just west of The Alexandra Resort), with 700 feet of prime beach frontage on the Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park, will include 85 homes spread out in four distinct neighborhoods. All are connected by crushed shell pathways to make it easy for residents and visitors to circulate throughout the community, enjoying its pristine beachfront border, lush garden courtyards, multiple water features and ever-evolving interaction.

The property’s hub is Veranda House, a quaint colonial-style inn adjacent to the main entry/reception area. Available here are studio, one and two bedroom condominium/hotel suites. Housed in several separate buildings embellished with verandas, patios and decks and linked by covered balconies, Veranda House surrounds a magnificent courtyard, flanks a 40-foot pool and overlooks the central plaza performance area and rippling peacock-blue sea beyond.

Immediately to the west is the Tradewinds Neighborhood, featuring eight, three story, three bedroom townhomes, each with a personal plunge pool in a private courtyard. The building’s 1/2 story elevation assures prime views of the sea and adjoining peaceful park area. Each four-plex has a gated entrance of low stone walls to emphasize the quiet, intimate lifestyle to be found here.

Northwards towards the beach is the more lively Sandpiper Neighborhood. Here, outdoor living and sociability speak from townhomes in six-plex, three-plex and duplex styles, all boasting huge porches and surrounding a grand courtyard. Three private homes Ð two, three story, four bedroom cottages and a two level house Ð occupy the prime oceanfront property. These homes are unique on the island as being the only full-size, stand-alone, beachfront homes which reap the full amenities of a resort.

Also along the beach are the Callaloo Restaurant and indoor/outdoor bar, with its unusual seaside reflecting pool. With a menu that will include a melange of island flavors, the Callaloo is expected to become a popular gathering place. Upstairs, in the shadow of the trademark clocktower, is Veranda’s members-only lounge.

An additional four beach cottages and one larger beach home, all with private pools, lie to the east of the restaurant in the upscale Kingston Well Neighborhood. Named after the historic freshwater well that satiated settlers for years, this elegant neighborhood is close to the wellness center and spa and steps from the beachfront massage cabanas. It includes a selection of duplex, three-plex and four-plex townhomes, as well as the Carriage House, with four, one-bedroom suites topping eight attached English carriage houses that serve as parking garages for owners of Veranda’s private homes.

Setting the Scene
Uniting the entire Veranda property is an architectural style rooted in the character of TCI’s Salt Islands. Project architect Raul Lastra of OBM International Ltd. explains, “After the envisioning session, our team visited Grand Turk and Salt Cay. What especially stood out were the deep porches, shuttered windows, overhanging eaves and ‘dogtrot’ passages between buildings, regional traditions that have evolved to take advantage of shade and capture ocean breezes. We incorporated many of these elements, along with pastel colors, low stone fences and iron gates, into Veranda’s design.”

Buildings in the community range from 1 1/2 to 4 stories in height, creating a visually pleasing roofscape. He adds, “We want residents, guests and visitors to feel like they are in a small, seaside town. But it’s important to remember that the owners will influence the way Veranda is perceived. It’s definitely not your typical manicured resort property. You’ll see individual tastes evidenced throughout.”

For the interiors, Lastra says that the tone was set early on, a casual, easy and timeless elegance. “We’ll be featuring polished wood floors, pastel walls, dark woods for the furniture, decorative ironwork, canopied four-poster beds, marble washrooms and French doors opening onto the verandas . . . all elements that conjure the romance of the Caribbean.”

Veranda will include all the amenities of a first-class resort. Residents and guests are met at a central reception building and escorted to their homes. The live-in concierge can arrange for everything from scuba diving and fishing trips to golf course tee times and dinner reservations. On Veranda’s sugar-sand beach will be umbrellas and lounge chairs, along with day cabanas complete with showers, refrigerators and wet bars — available for reservation by owners and rental by guests. The on-site wellness center and spa will offer state of the art equipment and treatment programs. 26 Shades of Turquoise is the Veranda’s gallery selling local artwork and crafts, and the central lawn will be the venue for a revolving list of productions, ranging from ballet performances to appearances by the local rake ‘n’ scrape band. In all, the goal is to create a living, thriving village that will appeal not only to residents, but visitors as well, enticing them to make Veranda their lodging-of-choice when they return to the Islands.

Turning the Pages
The idea of a coastal community is not new to either Veranda’s architects or marketers. Lastra says, “This is actually the ideal project for OBM because we have long extolled the virtues of the ‘fourth generation resort concept,’ which merges the variety of a functioning town with the pleasures of resort living. This creates a place where people value not just the buildings, but the entire experience of living there.” Playground has successfully utilized this concept in marketing for Intrawest dozens of ski and golf resort villages across North America and Europe.

Chad Rowe is Playground’s director of sales and marketing for Veranda and at the time of this interview, was busy preparing for Veranda’s VIP Selection Day. Through its years of experience, Playground has evolved a branded approach to sales that it being utilized for Veranda. Rowe describes, “Rather than focus on mass marketing, we held a series of traveling presentations in Colorado, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York City, Miami and London, where we introduced the Veranda story to invited prospects, many from our resort data base. David Bowen and a group of local entertainers traveled with us, to infuse our meetings with Turks & Caicos flair.”

On-island, select local advertising brings interested persons to Veranda’s one-of-a-kind Discovery Center. More than just a sales office, the Disney-like village is a truly interactive experience, blending graphics, movies and models to depict the Veranda vision. “The goal,” Rowe says, “is to help investors see the ‘big picture’ and become immersed in the mood.”

Playground’s first contacts, however, were to previous Intrawest vacation destination homeowners. Rowe explains, “Our role is more of an investment advisor rather than sales agent. Our satisfied customers are among the first who want to purchase into Playground-marketed properties. Many buy into more than one project and some investors have actually purchased into 20 to 30. Along with a track record of solid investments, a purchase into a Playground Destinations Property (such as Veranda) allows owners participating in the rental management program to trade time at any of the 33 other Intrawest Playground Resorts in North America.” Rowe expects that Veranda’s owners will consist of about 50% previous Intrawest owners and 50% new owners. Some purchase into the property as a pure investment, while others see it is a lifestyle choice, the fulfillment of a dream to live in the Caribbean.

Interested investors are offered a chance to become involved in Playground’s Limited Priority Reservationª Program. With a $10,000 deposit, they are placed on a Preferred Reservation List. On Selection Day, salespersons go down the list, offering each participant their choice of home from those remaining. In most cases, 50 to 100% of the units in a property are sold on this single day. The closing process takes place when the project is completed.

Intrawest’s corporate web site describes as one of its goals: “to highlight the uniqueness of the cultural and geographic setting of each resort” while at the same time applying 21st century technology. Rowe explains that Intrawest/Playground had been researching the Turks & Caicos Islands for some time as a potential new exotic location. They were especially attracted by TCI’s virtues as a safe and trusted destination, its easy accessibility, astounding natural beauty and relatively undeveloped nature.

Construction on the $90 million Veranda project should begin in September, 2003, with a two-year build-out anticipated. Veranda’s Discovery Center can be found on Lower Bight Road, adjacent to Beaches Resort.

To learn more, call a specialist at (649) 941-4604 or visit www.VerandaTurks.com.

By Norman B. Saunders Jr., Saunders & Co.

Democracy has never been the cheapest form of government and it always requires assistance to function well. This article looks at certain aspects of the legislative framework upon which our democracy stands.

The legislation that is relevant to the Turks & Caicos Islands people’s exercise of their democratic rights is contained within the Elections Ordinance, the Electoral Districts (Boundaries) Ordinance, and there are aspects to our Constitution that touch on the exercise of democratic rights.

In its purest form democracy requires that for every decision each member of the public should have an equal say in the determination of that decision. This is of course impractical, so much of the world has instead embraced representative democracy. In a representative democracy, everyone has an equal say in the election of an individual, or group of individuals, who then make decisions on behalf of the masses.

This article will look at certain aspects of TCI elections legislation, specifically areas of the law that are designed to ensure the integrity of the election process, in an effort to ensure that our representative democracy reflects the choice of the people.

Our election laws are the foundation upon which a superstructure is created to ensure the proper exercise of our democratic rights. It provides for the appointment of a Supervisor of Elections (”Supervisor”), who is responsible for supervising and administering the election and ensuring compliance with every aspect of the legislation. The law provides for the preparation of a register of voters, the creation of electoral districts, a process for making objections to the voters lists, proper conduct at elections, a process for disputing the results of elections through the courts, election offences and a miscellany of other matters.

ELECTORS
The individuals that are allowed to select our representatives are set out in the Elections Ordinance and in the Constitution. A potential voter must either have been born in the Turks & Caicos Islands, or was born to a father or mother that was born in the Turks & Caicos Islands, or he must be a Belonger. In addition, such a person must be 18 years old and must have lived in the Turks & Caicos for a minimum of 12 months in the 2 years prior to the date used to qualify voters for an election.

It is interesting to note that birth in the Islands, coupled with a minimum period of residency, entitles an individual to vote. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that one’s birth in the Islands, alone, does not entitle one to Belongership nor does it entitle one to any form of residency status. It may therefore be the case that potential voters are prevented under the Immigration Ordinance from qualifying to vote because they are subject to immigration control and they have no right to reside in the country, which is a necessary criteria for their exercise of the right to vote. It would be interesting to see whether an argument before the Supreme Court that the provisions in the Immigration Ordinance that subject individuals that are born in the Islands to immigration control is unconstitutional because it might deny them of their constitutional right to vote.

APPOINTMENT OF THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Our elections law provides that the Governor shall appoint a Supervisor. Once appointed it is the Supervisor, subject to the approval of the Governor, who appoints the election officers except that in the case of the returning officers he recommends them to the Governor for appointment. Presiding Officers are appointed to oversee the conduct at the polling station in each district. Poll Clerks are appointed to assist Presiding Officers and the Returning Officers are recommended to the Governor for appointment for the counting of the votes and determining the winning candidate.

VOTERS LISTS
A considerable amount of effort is put into the proper compiling of the voters lists. The law provides that the Supervisor shall publish no later than 30 January in each year, a list of individuals that were eligible to vote on 30 November of the previous year. Claims and objections can be made to the voters lists within 14 days of their publication.

If the Supervisor decides to hear a claim or objection he must give no less than five days notice to the potential voter and he must also give notice to the person lodging the claim or objection. It is the Supervisor who hears the claims and objections but a further appeal lies from the Supervisor to an Elections Adjudicator (”Adjudicator”), who is appointed by the Governor in his discretion. The decision of the Adjudicator is final.

The Governor must publish the list of voters shortly after the claims and objections procedure but at any rate, not later than 28 February of each year. If there are still unheard claims and objections before the Adjudicator, then the Governor shall not publish that part of the voters lists affected by the appeal and the corresponding part of the previous voters lists shall continue in use.

Despite all of the statutory protections indicated above, the Supervisor of Elections can amend the list of voters at any time, and indeed he must do so, to give effect to a decision on a claim or objection, or to include the name of anyone that he is satisfied is entitled to be registered. This power, however, to make these amendments at any time does not appear to come with the same statutory obligations that apply during the claims and objections procedure, where notice must be given to those individuals affected by the exercise of the power.

The effect of this provision is that changes can be made to the voters lists up to and on the day of the elections. While it also appears that there is an unrestricted right to appeal the decision of the Supervisor, in the opinion of the writer those rights are effectively futile if the Supervisor is going to make changes to the voters lists up to and including the day of the elections. This is because the right to appeal a decision of the Supervisor requires that notice be given within seven days of a decision, and for a hearing within seven days of receipt of notice. This effectively means that the decisions that the Supervisor makes in the days running up to the election are, for all practical purposes, only subject to review by the Supreme Court after a winner has been announced.

What is different about elections in the Turks & Caicos Islands is the small number of voters that comprise some districts. In those districts each vote is relatively important. A considerable amount of effort in the days up to our elections is spent, by most candidates, trying to massage the voters lists in the hope of switching the balance of support. Since changes that are made in this manner are outside of the claims and objections procedure the writer can see nothing in the elections legislation that requires such decisions to be notified to all relevant parties and indeed, since such changes can be made up to and including the day of the election, the delivery of such notice to relevant parties would be futile.

It is suggested that it is contrary to democratic principles that the Supervisor should have the power to make changes to the elections lists up to and including the day of elections. Some voters in Providenciales’ Bight, for instance, stood in line for more than five hours for the right to cast their vote. This in itself is a hefty price to pay for democracy. It is the writer’s view that it would be a travesty of decency if a voter got to the front of the line in the Bight only to find that a few hours prior to the elections the Supervisor had amended the elections lists changing the voter to another district.

It is the writer’s view that a better approach would be to prevent changes to the elections lists during the one-month period prior to the elections. This would prevent both sides from trying to achieve victory by ambush. More importantly, it would give all voters the opportunity to determine, well in advance, where they must exercise their democratic rights.

THE PROCEDURE AT ELECTIONS
Every candidate may appoint someone to attend at the polling station along with someone to attend at the counting of the votes. Voting is to be by secret ballot cast in a covered booth designed to keep confidential the identity of the candidate for who the voter cast his ballot.

On the day of the elections, the Presiding Officer and the Poll Clerk, at 7 AM in each district, must open the ballot box in front of the candidates or their agents to ensure that there are no ballots in the box and then the ballot box must be closed, locked, and kept on a table in full view of all present in the polling station. The person representing each candidate may stay in the polling station so that he can see each voter and hear each voter’s name. No person other than the election officers and the voters should be allowed within 100 yards of a polling station.

When given his ballot paper, voters should be allowed to enter the secret polling compartment in the polling station to mark their ballot paper. On return of the voter, the Presiding Officer must examine the ballot in front of the representatives for the candidates to ensure that it is the same ballot and he must then, again in full view, deposit the vote in the ballot box. Every person who presents himself at a polling station before it is closed must be allowed to vote and the blind and the illiterate are allowed to have a friend vote for them.

After the poll is closed the Presiding Officer must seal the ballot box, count the number of voters casting votes, count the number of spoiled ballots, count the number of unused ballots, and cross-reference them to ensure that all ballot papers are accounted for. All the documents used at the polling station must be delivered to the place for the counting of the votes or to the Returning Officer, who must place his seal on the box. The Presiding Officer must also deliver the keys to each ballot box to the Returning Officer.

The Returning Officer must open the ballot box, giving each candidate, or someone on his behalf, the ability to see each vote counted. The witnesses must also be given sheets to keep track of the votes cast for the candidates. Where there is an equality of votes for two or more candidates, no such candidates having the highest number of votes, no candidate shall be elected. The tie must be resolved through a special by-election with only those candidates with an equality of votes, to determine the winner.

ELECTION OFFENCES
During the hours that the poll is open no person should in any public place seek to influence a voter to vote for any particular candidate. In addition no person should use any loudspeakers for political propaganda or supply any loudspeakers with the intent that they are to be used for political propaganda. It is also an offence to supply intoxicating liquor during polling hours, presumably on the basis that liquor promotes disorderly behavior.

It is also an offence to bribe a voter, to corruptly bestow treats on a voter as an inducement to vote for a candidate, or to coerce a voter to vote in a particular manner. The list of what is covered by bribery is wide. It includes giving something of value to a person to vote in a particular manner, or after voting in a particular manner, or having refrained from voting in a particular manner. It also includes a person giving someone money for the purpose of bribery. It includes the person accepting the item of value on the promise to vote or to refrain from voting in a particular manner. It also includes someone accepting something of value because of the promise of another to vote or to refrain from voting in a particular manner.

The definition of bribery not only bides on the person giving the item of value but also on the person accepting the bribe. Both parties might indeed be culpable but from a practical standpoint it makes it difficult, in the absence of a sting operation, to secure convincing evidence of bribery if all the parties involved are subject to penalties.

ELECTION COMPLAINTS
Objection to an election result must be made by petition to the Supreme Court within 7 days of the election unless the petition is based on corruption and unless it alleges the payment of a reward, by or on behalf of a candidate, in which case the petition may be lodged within 14 days of the petitioner becoming aware of the payment.

If on hearing a petition the Judge finds and certifies that a candidate who has been elected is personally guilty, or is guilty through someone who represents him, of any corrupt or illegal practice, that person’s election shall be void. In addition, if the Judge finds that corrupt and illegal practices so extensively prevailed at an election that it likely affected the result of the elections, the Judge must determine that the election of that person is void and that person shall be incapable of being elected to fill any vacancies for which the elections were held.

After hearing the petition, the Judge must determine either that the person complained of was properly elected, that another person was properly elected, that no one was properly elected, or that the election was void and the Judge must certify his results to the Governor, which shall be final. The election must either be confirmed, altered, or a new election must be held in accordance with the Judge’s certification.

This article has only briefly touched on some of the legislative provisions that help to secure the integrity of the electoral process in order to ensure that representatives are properly chosen. It is the writer’s view that it is important if the process is to work well that we have well-thought-out legislation and a strong judiciary that will act as a buffer to the excesses of power. Even where the difficulty is more an exuberate but ill advised use of power, resulting in mistakes, which is more likely to be the case, rather than an intention to skew the results of an election, it is important that there be a check against official power.

Norman B. Saunders Jr. read law at Cambridge University, England and Philosophy and Economics at the University of Toronto, Canada. A native of South Caicos, Mr. Saunders is the founding partner of Saunders & Co.

QUESTION: WHY ARE CORAL REEF FISHES SO COLOURFUL?

ANSWER: BECAUSE THEY ARE. THE END.

That answer, arguably as true as any other, reflects the fact that we’re really not entirely certain why many coral reef fishes are so incredibly colourful. We once thought we knew but I, for one, am not so sure about that any more. What I am fairly sure about is that I wouldn’t be much of a scientist if I didn’t take this opportunity to address this question and waffle endlessly about what we do know, and what we think we know.

Still, this is One of Those Questions, and it’s such deceptively simple questions that really highlight how little we know about the oceans and their inhabitants. That, in itself, is quite impressive and that lack of basic knowledge is all the more significant in the context of our species’ frequently demonstrated tendency toward environmental atrocity on land and sea. Let me turn the question around, first, and look at why fishes that don’t live on coral reefs are not so colourful.

If you compare coral reef fishes with fishes of temperate or cold seas — let’s say the Gulf of Maine or Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence — you’ll notice that there are typically fewer fishes, certainly far fewer species, and that most of the most obvious species are adorned with colours that could be summed up in one word: drab.

Look more closely at the fishes that hide in rocky recesses and thickets of algae, though, and you’ll start to see some rather vivid colours. Actually, some of these well-camouflaged bottom-dwelling fishes of temperate climes easily rival their tropical counterparts in coloration, and you might be hard pressed to pick which is which if presented with close-up pictures of a blenny from cold Canadian waters and one photographed off Grand Turk’s tropic shore. It makes sense, really — in both cases, the fish is doing its best to match its natural background, and cold water algae and encrusting life can be every bit as colourful as anything that you’ll see on a coral reef. There’s another factor, too: use of colour in courtship, threat, and other displays. That’s where things start to get really tricky, so we’ll come back to that once we’re a bit more warmed up to the topic.

Let’s stick a while longer with our imaginary comparative expeditions to a Turks & Caicos reef and a cooler-water site. If you hook a deep-dwelling fish in those cold waters you might be surprised to see that it’s a brilliant red colour. Same thing in the tropics. This is not mere coincidence.

For most fishes, red — derived from compounds (carotenoids) present in food — is an energetically inexpensive pigment relative to other colours in their repertoire that must be produced from scratch, such as black (melanin pigment). Red fills in nicely for black where light levels are low and may even be less visible than black because it contrasts far less obviously against sand and other light-coloured backgrounds in downwelling moon- and starlight. That’s probably why so many deep sea fishes and so many of the nocturnal fishes you’ll see on coral reefs — like the bigeyes, soldierfishes, and squirrelfishes so common around the Turks & Caicos Islands — are red. It basically boils down to them having nabbed the metabolic equivalent of a really good “sale price” on red paint schemes. After all, if you wanted black paint, but red was on sale (and it was going to be viewed in the dark, anyway), why not save a few dollars? For a fish, those few dollars’ worth of energy may make all the difference in determining what side of the food chain it ends up on at day’s (or night’s) end.

So it seems that our query regarding why cool water fishes aren’t as colourful as those that inhabit coral reefs has proven a bit of a trick question. The same applies to lack of obvious colour. In the same way that a cod’s fairly uniform coloration enables it to blend with its cold water habitat, or with water a lot murkier than we usually see around these islands, so does a tuna’s gunmetal sheen or a big Spanish mackerel’s brilliant silver allow it to blend well with the clear, open water beyond the reef. Although the general pattern most definitely is for coral reef fishes to be far more colourful than their temperate counterparts, the comparison nicely illustrates the universal value of coloration as camouflage. Compare animals from any two marine habitats and you’ll probably find more similarities than differences.

That complex and bright coloration can have camouflage value is apparent just from comparing fishes like benthic (bottom-dwelling) scorpionfishes from temperate and tropical waters, that usually look fairly indistinguishable. These ambush predators also have in common tufts and frills of tissue that break up their outlines and the ability to remain patiently motionless for long periods, both of which enhance their predatory success and — in concert with dorsal fin spines loaded with potent venom — reduce their likelihood of being dispatched by predators. Although many scorpionfishes are often brightly coloured, that doesn’t mean that they can’t match their background as effectively as the muddiest-hued flounder.

That pretty much makes sense, but does it explain the really striking colour schemes of some reef fishes? How could some of the more bizarrely coloured and patterned fishes that swim within the world’s seas ever hope to match with their background? Take a look at photographs of some of these fishes and you’d probably never believe that their coloration and markings could ever be effective camouflage. You’d be right, too. You’d also be wrong. Let’s have a look at how this apparent paradox can be.

CONSPICUOUS CAMOUFLAGE

Without getting too bogged down in the spectral characteristics of light and so on, let’s start with the basic fact that light is essentially absorbed by water one colour at a time, with each increase in depth resulting in another colour disappearing from the visible spectrum. As you descend through the water column, red is among the first colours to go, which brings us back to our deepwater and nocturnal friends that use red as a cheap substitute for black. Cut yourself at a decent depth and you’re liable to bleed green or blue. Blue is the last colour to fade out, and by the time it disappears — at least in clear, tropical waters — you are either in a submarine or way too deep. We fade to abyssal black after blue leaves the building.

The upshot of all this is that the spectacularly-patterned red and white firefishes of the Indo-Pacific region, to look at one of the more extreme examples of apparently conspicuous colours, actually appear more or less black-and-white at any appreciable depth. In other words, the striking colours that you’ll see in photos of the beasts become monochromatic under natural light and what at first appears a very conspicuous scheme becomes great disruptive camouflage — a pattern that breaks up the fish’s outline or otherwise makes it appear like anything but what it is.

Of course, you could propose that the firefishes are advertising their venomous spines to all potential predators and that these striking patterns and colours are a warning signal. That’s something that’s been said often enough and the absolute truth is that both ideas may have merit. There’s no shortage of circumstantial evidence that indicates an aposematic (warning) role for bright coloration in some reef fishes, usually with brilliant hues highlighting spines and other defensive structures or advertising extreme toxicity.

This kind of situation, where we have dueling “Just-So” stories that may both comprise part of the truth, is probably one reason why so many scientists appear so distracted and vaguely uneasy about commitment to one single truth or another. (Another reason why many scientists may seem this way is that they’ve been working too much with statistics or with preservative chemicals, either of which can have fairly adverse effect on the brain.) But I digress. Again. And thus I handily prove my own point about scientists.

A little closer to home, we can see the same kind of non-intuitive camouflage principle at work in the spotted drum. A striking study in stark black and white, this spectacular little fish sports a distinctive pattern of spots and other features that really catch the eye. Take another look, though, and perhaps you’ll see that what all of these bars and blotches do quite nicely is break the fish’s outline and body up into a series of apparently-disconnected globs, none of which look particularly like a fish. The same applies to the aptly-named rock beauty, an angelfish conspicuously adorned in resplendent gold and black. Look beyond the first vibrant impression, though, and what you’ve really got is a thin strip of gold that surrounds a big dark space of what could easily be seen as nothingness.

If a television newscaster or meteorologist wears the wrong shade of blue, there’s a real danger that the camera will basically see through him or her to the projected background — this is the “blue screen” effect used so much in movies. Fishes like the rock beauty have mastered a similar feat of optical magic in having large portions of their bodies rendered basically invisible to potential predators. The rock beauty has essentially made the whole middle of its body disappear. Fishes don’t ordinarily have big holes in their middles so the odds are improved that your average predator may not, at least at first glance or while on the run, mentally process the rock beauty as being a potential meal.

HIDE AND GO SEEK
As we saw with the Pacific firefishes, it’s not at all inconceivable that a given colour scheme could be the result of both a need for camouflage and a need for conspicuousness or, at least, that both of these needs could be expressed through the fish’s coloration. I’ve spent years studying great barracuda and can attest that even their basically silvery coloration has many variants. Any single barracuda’s colour may range from brownish to black to green to very pale gray within a few seconds, perhaps developing bars and other patterns throughout. Some of these dynamic colours and patterns make the barracuda more conspicuous and some make it basically disappear; most can do either, depending on what the prevailing background and light conditions are.

All of these colour changes are probably multifunctional. And this leads me to the really tricky bit: it’s in the arena of displays (whether for courtship, territoriality, or some other need) that things can become even more complex. When we get into considering how coloration plays a part in signalling and so on, the multiple functions of colours and patterns assume multiple layers of significance to the extent that trying to unravel what’s what can be cause for some pretty severe headaches.

Let’s forge onward, anyway. Aspirin in hand, if need be.
Many fishes have prodigious camouflage capability. Species like needlefishes and barracudas can even vanish into the transparency of open water, no small accomplishment in itself. Most other open-water fishes, and many that live closer to the bottom, have obvious countershaded colour schemes with darker tops that match the seafloor and lighter undersides that, viewed from below, allow the fish to blend more with downwelling light and the surface and sky above.

But sometimes you don’t want to blend in to the background. Sometimes being a wallflower just isn’t going to get you very far and, for many fishes, courtship is one of those times. Fishes that rely on camouflage to keep them alive long enough to mate tend to solve the dilemma of reconciling such conflicting survival demands by developing temporary colour or markings schemes that get the message — “I’m in the mood for love” — across without ambiguity.

These temporary colours and patterns can be quite dynamic, perhaps involving flashes of colour or markings that fade in and out to reflect the subtleties inherent to certain parts of the courtship process. Just as many birds follow traditional courtship dances, many fishes go through a species- specific series of fixed movements and postures accompanied by a sound and light show that mixes both visual and auditory signals in an all-out effort to woo the chosen female. The displays’ first order of business, establishing that the two are, indeed, of the same species, is quickly followed by the male doing a great deal of posing intended to persuade the girl of his dreams that he is the reef’s primo studmuffin and most eligible bachelor.

Some fishes that are brightly-coloured on a permanent basis may essentially always be demonstrating their genetic fitness, a behaviour also known as “showing off.” Given that maintaining certain pigments might require designating a significant portion of a fish’s metabolic resources to the task, a fish that is inherently healthier than another is likely to have more robust and glorious colours. By contrast, a fish that is particularly susceptible to parasitism or disease is likely to have duller colours because it’s using all of its energy reserves to battle infection or depletion.

In this way, maintenance of gaudy colours can — like the vigour of his courtship dance — be an indication of a male’s ability to accrue food, territory, and other resources and as good a pointer to his genetic superiority as a female’s likely to get. This isn’t a phenomenon unique to colourful fishes. Look at us. Although prevailing attitudes are shifting in some societies, the default tendency is for women to apply rouge and lipstick to mimic a “healthy” blush and for men to accumulate material wealth to indicate their prowess as providers. And I won’t get into the various chest-bulking plastic surgeries now available for both men and women, except to mention that “cheaters” in the impressing-the-mate process are a feature within fish populations, too. There really is nothing new under the sun. Or under the sea, for that matter.

Multifunctionality is the name of the game when you’ve only got so many modes of expression available and a very common pattern, in fishes and in other animals, is for threat displays to include the same elements as do courtship displays. The display’s context is all-important, and a rapid colour change during a courtship ritual may have an entirely different meaning when accompanying a territorial chase, a predatory strike, or as a fright reaction when predation threatens. If you spend much time on a reef you’ll eventually see predators and their prey, or territorial residents and intruders, flashing through colour or shading shifts. Some of these colour and pattern changes may even be byproducts of a physiological “fight-or-flight” reaction. Again, look at humans: we blush when we’re courting, we blush when we’re embarrassed, we blush when we’re furious, and we sometimes blush when we get a good jolt of adrenaline.

SO, WHY ARE REEF FISHES SO COLOURFUL?
Well, not all reef fishes are colourful. But the bottom-most of bottom lines here is that no scientist can really be 100% sure about why any given coral-reef fish tends to be so colourful or to display such striking patterns. That’s not to say that we don’t have some insights that make sense, though, or that we can’t make a fairly convincing and logical explanation that may even approximate the objective truth.

Still, even something so apparently simple as the question posed at the top of this article tells us a lot about how complex and subtle much of nature is and how little of it we truly understand. We don’t like that, of course. The paradoxes that we’ve examined here can be somewhat frustrating in that it’s hard to point to one thing and say: “This . . . this is the answer.” (Actually, you could, but you may be wrong or — at best — only partly right.)

As long as you keep that in mind and realise that you’re unlikely to ever know the Truth, and take the Taoists’ advice that a belief that you know the Truth automatically disqualifies you from knowing the True Truth, you’ll be okay. Theorise ahead, and darn (this article’s suitable for the whole family) the torpedoes.

Let’s face it: the natural world is a world of paradoxes, which is perhaps why those of us who think only in linear terms may never even begin to understand it. But the coral reef is one collection of paradoxes that works quite well according to its own logic. Whatever that may be.

Shane Paterson, who studied great barracuda while a visiting scientist to the School for Field Studies facility on South Caicos, is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

Matt Weedon, who worked in the Turks & Caicos Islands as a School for Field Studies intern and as photo pro aboard Peter Hughes’ Sea Dancer liveaboard dive vessel, is a professional photographer now based in Texas.

As you meet Belongers during your visit to the Turks & Caicos Islands, do not hesitate to ask them which island they are from. If they come from South Caicos, ask them about the lobster fishermen there — you’ll be in for a lengthy description of their prowess, their skill and their courage. These are men of all ages who make a living by free diving (holding their breath) and gathering lobsters at depths that can reach 20 meters (60 feet). In that, they are unlike the recreational fishers of Florida who, endowed with SCUBA equipment and fancy gear, can spend close to an hour underwater to gather half a dozen lobsters.

Herein lies the South Caicos paradox: despite the fact that it provides a key commercial export product, the Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in the Turks & Caicos Islands is largely based on artisanship.
This is a story of men who have been fishing lobster for generations, passing on knowledge and skills from father to son, armed merely with a mask, snorkel, a pair of fins and the ubiquitous “hook,” a simple fishing hook attached to the end of a short stick.

South Caicos is a beautiful, pristine island. A small hotel and a few bed and breakfast establishments accommodate discerning tourists who have come for the spectacular diving and bonefishing. South Caicos is also home to the School for Field Studies Centre for Marine Resource Studies. Other tourist developments are in various stages of planning, but the local fishery constitutes the lungs of the South Caicos economy.

Fishermen engage in three sorts of fisheries: lobster, Queen conch (Strombus gigas) and finfish. While the latter is mostly destined for local consumption, the former two feed a significant export market and the same fishermen fish for both conch and lobster.

The conch fishery is regulated by a regional agreement that was adopted in application of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Once the specified quota is reached, conch can no longer be exported and the level of fishing decreases dramatically. Lobster are not regulated by CITES, but rather through a closed season system, whereby fishermen can only fish from August 1 to March 31. As a result, fishermen tend to switch from lobster to conch once the lobster season ends and fish conch until the quota is reached. The other restriction is that fishermen are not allowed to catch “shorts” (lobsters that are less than 84 mm in carapace length), mated females (identified by “tar-spots” on their underside) and gravid females (identified by aggregations of eggs or “berries” held externally on the underside of their tail).

The fishermen operate in teams of two to four on small vessels that have been specially fitted. Hulls of various makes are shipped into the Turks & Caicos, where they are stripped of their decking and interior outfitting. The remaining bare hull is then fitted with a small foredeck and center control console, between which a well is built to hold the lobsters. The primary purpose of these boats is to provide fast, agile transportation to run the fishermen from their home port to the fishing grounds on and around the Caicos and Turks banks. Additionally, being small and of relatively shallow draft, these boats enable fishers to navigate directly over the patch reefs that form the bulk of their targeted fishing areas on the banks.

As the boat exits the Cockburn Harbour, the crew settles in for a potentially long, rough trip across open water to their chosen reefs. Arriving at the first site, the “diver” begins to dive on the reef as the “keep up” man drives the boat in a holding pattern nearby. This method is for safety as well as efficiency. Should the diver encounter lobster, the boat can pick up the catch as the diver surfaces. Should the diver experience a problem such as a cramp, blackout or shark attack, the boat is able to rescue him as quickly as possible.

Indeed, lobster fishing can be a dangerous occupation. One of the major risks to a diver’s health is the ever-present possibility of complications during any of the hundreds of individual dives a fisher may make in a single day. The most dangerous is shallow-water blackout, a condition in which a diver will lose consciousness in the last 15 to 20 feet during an ascent to the surface, which can lead to drowning or neurological damage. Shark attacks are always a possibility, mainly from Caribbean Reef Sharks, Great Hammerheads and Bull Sharks.

As a result, most fishermen are extremely fit and apt at free diving. In fact, the best are those who combine aptitude at free diving with an inherited knowledge of the best reefs, the areas where lobsters aggregate in greatest numbers. Some of the fishermen learned to dive when they were as young as 10 and most have inherited their knowledge of the lobster from their fathers or other family members.

As in other fisheries, however, some less talented divers — in an attempt to increase the efficiency of their dives– have taken to using chemicals such as chlorine bleach and dishwashing detergent to flood cavities in the reef to drive lobsters out in the open where they can be more easily caught. This practice can have a substantial impact on the lobster stock by affecting the health of their habitat. This method of fishing is strictly illegal and severely sanctioned by the enforcement officers of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR). Most fishermen, however, are well aware that they are stewards of their shared resources and look down on anyone who employs this kind of cheating.

The end of the day for the fishing crew arrives when they have caught enough or exhausted their resources for the day and they settle in for the ride back to port. At the dock, fishers transfer their catch to the processing plant where it is weighed and they are given a pay slip to be redeemed later for cash. The processing plants operate under strict U.S. health standards since a large portion of the catch is ultimately exported there.

Fishers are paid a per pound price for whole lobster. A typical day’s catch for a three-man crew ranges from 100 to 400 pounds, depending on luck, diver skill, and seasonal shifts in lobster abundance, which can range from 40 pounds at the end of the season (when lobsters are scarcer) to 800 pounds during the “Big Grab.”

The opening of the lobster season on August 1 is known on South Caicos as the “Big Grab.” During this time, many Belongers who may or may not reside in the TCI and typically do not fish for the entirety of their livelihood enter the fishery for the period’s “fast cash.” As lobster fishing has been closed from April 1 to July 31, these first few weeks in August and September can prove quite profitable for even the least skilled diver.

In many cases, the opening weeks of the lobster season are seen as a festival of sorts — Belongers who reside on other islands of the TCI and even in other countries return to one of the three main fishing islands, but most notably South Caicos, for a working vacation. Indeed, up to 40% of the annual lobster landing can take place in August alone. However, many of these Big Grab fishers will return to their primary jobs after a few weeks. When these part-timers leave the fishery, the full-time fishers will continue fishing lobster, at a reduced catch level, for the remainder of the season.

In addition to the unwelcome competition during the Big Grab, the fishermen must also deal with incursions from foreign poachers. Those tend to sail into TCI waters, harvest all that they can with no regard to the laws and restrictions of the Turks & Caicos, and then run back to their home ports with large catches of essentially stolen product. These operations range in scale from small, sail powered vessels to larger operations involving a storage boat with numerous small fishing skiffs supplying product. One that was captured in 2002 involved two 10 to 15 meter storage vessels that were being served by eight small skiffs. The skiffs had diving crews equipped with compressed air apparatus to capture the lobsters, which were then transferred to the storage vessels and kept on ice. This particular operation had been working for approximately 10 days before it was caught by local authorities. Undoubtedly, if it had not been shut down, the two vessels would have been filled before returning to their home port with large quantities of TCI lobster.

Nevertheless, the lobster industry in the Turks & Caicos Islands has a long-standing tradition of providing a good living for the hard working fishermen of the Islands. Generations of fishermen have based their livelihood on lobster and conch and will likely continue to do so despite the many challenges that they face daily. High prices for both fuel and equipment can create hardships that these skilled boatmen take in stride as they carve out a living while trying to preserve their country’s natural heritage.

As tourism continues to grow as an industry and the number of visitors who partake of the TCI’s vast ocean resources increases, the pressure on lobster and conch habitat will also increase. There is comfort, however, in the fact that the DECR staff, in tandem with community groups and fishermen alike, are working hard to conserve and preserve these valuable ocean resources for future generations.
The proud tradition of lobster and conch fishing will no doubt remain a pillar of the economy on South Caicos. And the fearless “conquerors of the deep” will continue to pass on this tradition, from generation to generation of Turks & Caicos Islanders.

Dr. Charlotte de Fontaubert taught Marine Policy and Marine Park Management at the School for Field Studies in 1997 and 2000. She is still a frequent visitor of the Turks & Caicos and calls South Caicos her second home.

James “Jay” Harding was an intern at the School for Field Studies in 1998–1999 and just completed his Master’s degree in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island, where he wrote his thesis on the lobster fishery of the Turks & Caicos Islands.