Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Section And Page: 7
Paper Date: Mon, Dec 3, 2001
Byline: Marsha Deyal
HER EYES grow warm and sparkle like sunbeams on early morning waves as she speaks of her love of the marine environment.
Marine biologist Angelique Brathwaite is absolutely in awe of her job. This young woman, so passionate about preserving the health and harmony of the environment, has cavorted with dolphins, explored the intimate nooks of living coral reefs and stood before international assemblies to speak as an expert to renowned scientists and technocrats on coastal zone management issues. As she sits comfortably in her office at the Coastal Zone Management Unit's (CZMU), Bay Street, 31-year-old Brathwaite is dressed casually another job perk in a pair of jeans and a short, sleeveless shirt, with a small silver turtle trinket shining from her neatly pulled-back, sun-bleached locks.
"This is a very rewarding job," she said, with a look of serene satisfaction. "There is a great balance of being in the field in the water which is my home and dealing with the policy and legislation aspects of the environment. I'm getting things done and making positive changes."
Brathwaite had always loved the sea, and fondly remembers going swimming frequently near her St James home. She didn't, however, think that that love could be translated into a profession she had initially wanted to be a vet until one fateful career showcase at school when she found her true vocation.
"This guy rode up on a motorcycle, and I loved motorcycles, so I followed him because I wanted to see what career he was in. He was a marine biologist. And then it clicked; that I could actually study something that I loved."
She attended the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, studying marine biology, and interned here during summer vacations at the Bellairs Research Institute, St James. She remembered her first introduction to underwater Barbados.
"My first feeling was that I'm not
doing this," she said firmly. "I'm a wimp, and the first few
seconds of breathing through my mouth only was strange. But within a matter
of minutes I felt I had been doing it for my whole life. You're just gliding
with bubbles coming up and tickling your ears, and you're seeing all these
fish . . . and then you can turn around, look up, and see the water from the
other side. It's gorgeous a completely
different world."
She finished at Mona in 1991 and came back to work in Barbados as a co-pilot at Atlantis Submarines. After five years, she joined the CZMU as a marine biologist, a job that means "everything and more". In it, she is responsible for the protection of marine ecosystems around Barbados, in terms of both physically monitoring their health, as well as identifying and striving to implement policy and legislation necessary to protect them. She also has to assess planning applications of the construction going on the coast, and deal with public education.
"We're trying to get more people in the water. From the time I started diving it has just been tourists and me in the water. I have always wanted to see Barbadians in the water. If we can get them to go diving or snorkelling, and they see what's out there, they will help us protect the marine environment, I think. "Corals are awesome animals. They build larger animal structures than any other organism in the world, including man. Our whole island is a coral reef surrounded by coral reefs, built by animals that are only about two millimetres in size. That is amazing (considering) our water is barren it doesn't have a lot of food in it, that's why it's so clear and pretty' it's like an underwater desert. But in the midst of this desert you have this very productive system, these coral reefs tropical rainforests of the sea.
"These reefs generate and sustain
life. It's not just corals in the water, but algae, fish, sponges,
crustaceans, all the invertebrates. It's this
whole galaxy of organisms interacting with each other that forms a perfect
balance. And then man comes along and upsets the applecart. But the
awareness of coral reefs in Barbados is improving. I can see more local
divers and snorkellers making an effort during our annual clean-ups. We're
also getting a lot of people coming out during our beach clean-ups. But we
still have problems."
Brathwaite said that although the situation
in Barbados is quite good, in terms of scientific research, Government
support and growing public
awareness, there needs to be an even greater effort to preserve the
environment and make development more sustainable.
"I enjoy seeing the development in Barbados, but we must be careful for we need to attain a balance. Development must be sustainable for our own good. We have think long-term and take a holistic, integrated approach to it."