The battle for Bimini: Hemingway's Bahamas paradise under threat as locals row over plans to bring in 500,000 tourists a year

It is the idyllic island that American author Ernest Hemingway loved, but Bimini, in the Bahamas, has become the subject of vicious rows over how to develop its tourism.

The smallest inhabited island in the Bahamas is where Hemingway set his novel Islands in the Stream and has long been an exclusive enclave for America's wealthiest tourists.

But a new casino and hotel complex and a new contract allowing a Malaysian company to attract half a million tourists a year is tearing the local community apart.

Island idyll: Bimini is popular with wealthy tourists looking to explore its spectacular marine life

Island idyll: Bimini is popular with wealthy tourists looking to explore its spectacular marine life

Genting Group is behind the controversial resort on the nine-square-mile island, which has a population of just 2,000, and will now work to attracting more visitors to its shores.

And while some support the idea of bringing in more tourists, others claim it is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen, according to the Telegraph.

A large cruise ship pier is currently under construction to bring more tourists to the island and the resort, but businesses behind the project are accused of damaging coral reefs and dredging channels as part of the works.

Genting Group, has already built a 10,000-square-foot casino for the island and is expected to complete a 343-room hotel by the end of the year.

Fishing fan: Ernest Hemingway poses with a blue marlin from this 1936 photo made in North Bimini

Fishing fan: Ernest Hemingway poses with a blue marlin from this 1936 photo made in North Bimini

Caribbean gem: The tiny island has just 2,000 inhabitants

Caribbean gem: The tiny island has just 2,000 inhabitants

Picture perfect: The island is looking to attract more tourists and has been the subject of fierce over development versus protecting its marine life

Picture perfect: The island is looking to attract more tourists and has been the subject of fierce over development versus protecting its marine life

The company also has holdings in Star Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines, making it a powerful cruise operator.

The new pier would benefit cruise lines and also welcome a new ferry service from Miami which could transport up to 1,500 tourists a day to the island.

Advertised on the Resorts World Bimini website - the brand name for the development - the ferry service is advertised as a luxury day trip.

The websites advertises: 'Spend the day at the World's First Bahamas Cruise Destination Resort.  Your experience begins when you board the Bimini SuperFast Bahamas Cruise... [she] will comfortably cross the powerful gulfstream on the way to Bimini. 

Development: Tiny local hotels are now facing competition from big resorts

Development: Tiny local hotels are now facing competition from big resorts

Wreck diving: The waters around the island are teaming with wildlife
Making a splash: The island has 14 of the world's most spectacular reefs

Making a splash: The island has 14 of the world's most spectacular reefs as well as plenty of wrecks for divers

'Your memorable day includes world-class service from our international crew, multiple restaurants and bars and panoramic vistas of the Caribbean.'

Joseph Darville, founder of the Save Our Bays action group, told the Telegraph: 'What is happening on and around that little gem in the ocean, Bimini, will go down in the history of the Bahamas as the greatest potential tragedy to an eco-system.'

The group also has the backing of marine expert Fabien Cousteau, who is the grandson of the marine biologist Jacques Cousteau.

However, locals in favour of the project - which will bring more work and money to the island - are resentful about outsiders claiming to know more than Bimini's inhabitants.

Building a future: The island is developing its airport and Resort World Bimini is now offering a fast ferry service to the island from Miami

Building a future: The island is developing its airport and Resort World Bimini is now offering a fast ferry service to the island from Miami

Lloyd Edgecombe, Bimini’s chief councillor, said: 'They are basically calling the people of Bimini stupid.

Literary link: Hemingway wrote Islands in the Stream about Bimini

Literary link: Hemingway wrote Islands in the Stream about Bimini

'These outsiders are coming here and want to make an uproar.'

The island currently only attracts big-spending Americans, who often reach the island by private jet, and take advantage of the many wrecks that make it a fascinating dive destination, as well as an ideal spot for 'big-game' fishing.

It is the fishing opportunities that attracted Hemingway in the 1930s, when he spent three summers enjoying all the island had to offer.

Resorts World Bimini, the name for the revamped hotel and casino as well as the ferry service, insisted it had worked closely with the Bimini government to minimise damage to the ecosystem of the island.

It also said it hoped to create more jobs for locals as well as 'entrepreneurial opportunities' for islanders.

However, there are fears that the floodgates of development have been opened. Fred Smith, the lead attorney for the Bimini Blue Coalition Bahamians, sounded the alarm over a development project for the protected north of the island.

Mr Smith told website Tribune 242 that Bahamians 'should be terrified at the prospect' of the Government allowing Bimini’s developers to build on prime marine habitats.

He gave the warning after a senior government official allegedly said that a proposed Marine Protected Area  on the north of the island had never actually been implemented- meaning it remains unprotected.

The Marine Protected Area was supposed to have been given protection in 2009 following campaigns by world organisations including Tourism Concern.

The Save Bimini Association comntinues its campaign, stating: 'At no time in our history has our tiny island's eco-system been so threatened.What has already been destroyed is devastating.

'What they plan for our future may very well destroy Bimini's heritage for generations to come.'



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