Andros
Andros Island Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consists of hundreds of small islets and cays connected by mangrove estuaries and tidal swamplands, together with three major islands: North Andros, Mangrove Cay, and South Andros. The three main islands are separated by “bights”, estuaries that trifurcate the island, connecting the island’s east and west coasts. It is 167 kilometres (104 mi) long by 64 km (40 mi) wide at the widest point. Economy The largest employers on Andros Island are the Bahamian government and the AUTEC base at Fresh Creek. Despite its small population, Andros Island has several ongoing commercial ventures. Western Air maintains its headquarters in a modern facility at the San Andros airport.[8] A Mennonite mission-run commercial farm was founded near Blanket Sound in 1983, which grows everything from habanero peppers to sorghum and potatoes, and has numerous fruit orchards and honey bee hives. The Mennonites also run the largest car repair and carpentry shops on the island. Androsia, a hand-crafted batik factory founded at Fresh Creek in 1972, produces a vibrant, colourful fabric that has become part of the national dress and identity of the Bahamas. GreenLife Growers, a Bahamian native tree nursery at Young Sound, provides landscaping material to real estate developers and government projects throughout the Bahamas. Commercial fishing remains a mainstay of the island’s economy: conch, lobster, snapper and grouper are all commercially harvested for sale locally and in Nassau’s fish markets. Seasonal crabbing—catching crabs and fattening them in pens for sale in Nassau—provides a cash crop for locals to supplement their income. Local handicrafts in the Black Seminole style—particularly wood carvings and woven baskets—are a cottage industry in the settlement of Red Bays. A sample of Red Bays baskets is held by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. A fledgling conservation industry on Andros is dedicated to preserving the island’s unique ecosystems, working in partnership with the Bahamian government (Bahamas National Trust) and such varied non-governmental organizations as The Nature Conservancy and Project AWARE of the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). They supported legislation to found the Central Andros National Park in 2002. Most of the island’s conservation efforts funnel through the non-profit nongovernmental organization, Andros Conservancy & Trust Bahamas. ANCAT’s efforts are closely tied to encouraging eco-tourism, to generate economic incentives to preserve the existing varied habitats of the island. GreenForce Global Volunteering/Bahamas,[16] an international NGO based in the UK, conducts environmental research from its operation at Stafford Creek on North Andros. It also offers 3- to 12-week dive training, and marine and environmental science programs for conservationists and others. It also is where The Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) is located.Sorry we are experiencing system issues. Please try again.