We had never seen a meeting like this before: with scientists, government officials and community members from Vieques and from the main island of Puerto Rico all working together to share ideas. The emotion and enthusiasm were palpable.

The Trust brought in top ranked experts on bioluminescence, sustainable design, the control of light pollution and the management of bioluminescent bays from Puerto Rico and the United States whose in depth presentations drew an audience of scientists, high school and university students, professors, politicians, tour guides, fishermen and the general public.

All of the scientists made their research come to life for the audience, describing complex scientific information in a way that the audience could understand. To see the agenda , please go to our web site, www.vcht.com.

In order to be certain that both Spanish and English speakers could  participate fully in the conference, the Trust provided free simultaneous translation for all the activities.

The event began with a welcome message from Barbara Hyland, the President of the Board of Directors of the VCHT, followed by the official opening address from the Honorable Evelyn Delerme Camacho, mayor of Vieques. Then Dr. Barbara Bernache-Baker recounted her memories of being one of the first scientists to carry out scientific investigation in Puerto Mosquito, Vieques’ bioluminescent bay.

After the welcome messages, the symposium began in earnest. The speakers  — Edie Widder, PhD, Michael Latz, PhD, Miguel Sastre, PhD, Fernando Gilbes, PhD, the biologists — Elizabeth Padilla and Edgardo Belardo, and architect Fernando Abruña, PhD took the audience on a voyage of discovery — using language that was easily understood by non-scientists about very technical scientific subjects:  bioluminescence —why it occurs and in which organisms; the use of bioluminescent organisms for monitoring the quality of water in coastal and deep ocean systems; the threats posed by human activity to the bioluminescent bodies of water in Puerto Rico; the urgent need to bring together strong interdisciplinary processes to integrate social science with natural science to conserve the bioluminescent bays of Puerto Rico; the impact of too much light in our night skies (nocturnal light pollution) and ways to reduce it. The audience heard about management strategies used by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust in the Las Cabezas de San Juan Reserve. Edgardo Belardo  presented  the management plan proposed for the Puerto Mosquito Bioluminescent Bay, and the audience learned how the recent layoffs of most of the DRNA personnel would likely impact the possibility of ever putting it in place.

One of the most effective presentations was a charming video entitled "From Caño Hondo to Puerto Mosquito" in which Viequense fisherman Carmelo Rosa and his wife Gabriela Ponce, talked with Captain Mark Martin Bras, the Trust’s expert on Marine Life. Fishing on the pier in Esperanza, they discussed the historical uses of Puerto Mosquito — known as Caño Hondo by generations of Viequense fishermen. The video showed through words and images, the rapid development in the lands adjacent to the Bay and the resulting light pollution as well as new activities that are now happening in the Bay — situations which, if not managed wisely, could further damage this fragile environment.

After all the presentations, the audience broke up into five workshops to discuss how best to manage Puerto Mosquito in the future.  Their recommendations are set out in a separate article on this web site.

Related to this issue, the symposium attendees all received a copy of the Joint Resolution of the Senate (226) of Puerto Rico, whose author, Senator Luz María (Mariíta) Santiago attended the event. The resolution provides for the creation of a “Consortium for the Protection of Puerto Mosquito Bioluminescent Bay of Vieques” consisting of the Planning Board of Puerto Rico, ARPE, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Municipality of Vieques.

The mandate of the Consortium is to regulate the planning, identification, zoning, and description of the land surrounding Puerto Mosquito, setting out its uses, and having as a priority all areas that are above sea level and can be seen from the Bay.

Senator Norma Burgos Andujar, the President of the Senate Committee for Development and Planning, (the committee to which this Joint Resolution has been referred) convened the committee at the Symposium, and took advantage of this event to carry out a site visit of the Bay and an executive hearing. In addition to Senator Burgos, Senator Eder Ortiz (also a committee member) participated in the hearings. During the public discussions that were part of the Symposium, the participants expressed their support for the Joint Resolution.

During both days of Symposium on Bioluminescence, a very large number of elected officials and heads of Puerto Rican government agencies were present. As well as the Senators already mentioned, The Secretary of State of PR, the Hon. Kenneth McClintock Hernández; José Luis Valenzuela, Energy and Environment Advisor to the Governor; Licenciado Pedro Nieves, President of the Environmental Quality Board; Leslie Rosado, member of the  Planning Board, and Daniel Galán Kercadó, Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources attended the Symposium. As well, officials from federal environmental agencies including Sea Grant Puerto Rico; EPA, NOAA, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the USDA Forest Service were present.

This event was made possible through the sponsorship and support of W Hotel & Spa, the Municipality of Vieques, Sea Grant Program of Puerto Rico  (whose staff videoed, filmed, and took photographs of the entire event) and a very large number of businesses from Vieques, the main island and support from VCHT members, individuals and families.

Lirio Márquez D’Acunti, environmental consultant for the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust and her team did a superb job of planning, organizing and executing an event that comes at a crucial moment in the history of Vieques.