
CABINET NOTES:
The Cabinet learned that many of the sunscreen products, used by tourists to keep ultra violet rays from harming the skin while sunbathing, have proven harmful to coral and reefs.
The sunscreen products without the harmful chemical will gradually replace the harmful sunscreen through a phased approach to the discontinuation.
ALSO READ:
In a 2013 study, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science researchers and their partners discovered that a sunscreen chemical commonly used in many soaps, cosmetics, and body fragrances is highly toxic to corals.
The team’s data show that even very low concentrations of benzophenone-2, or BP-2, can quickly kill juvenile corals. BP-2 is an additive used in personal-care products since the 1960s to protect against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.
The team also found that BP-2 causes colorful corals to bleach, and can potentially induce or increase the frequency of mutation in corals by causing damage to their DNA. BP-2 is not removed from most municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
This discharge is often directly released in coastal waters of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific, threatening near-shore coral reefs.

Although pollution is a major cause of coral reef degradation and is the easiest factor to mitigate, BP-2 as a pollutant has largely been ignored, according to C.A. Downs, lead author of the study.
“In the case of BP-2 pollution, there are a range of options that can be considered for reducing its impact to reefs—from working with manufacturers and innovating more environmentally sustainable products to educating consumers regarding product selection and product disposal,” he said.
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These tourists r white people, they will use sunscreen. Make the product less harmfully.
Why your chupit rass have to bring colour into this? You think the black people don’t use the same sunscreen? Go educated yourself.
Since you quick to call out white people I hope you don’t accept their white money too for your services, food or goods that you sell them.
I think Billybob was simply saying perhaps the talk should be centered around making the sunscreen less harmful to the environ. I think your response is out of line “Billyboob the racist”.. And fyi most of our tourists are white. To state the obvious is not racist.
Don’t reinvent the wheel…
Speak to Aruba who have successfully achieved this through local & tourist education, specific reef-safe products and resorts buy-in.
Remember, understanding why, coupled with knowledgeable sales professionals at resort shops and retail areas, will bring success in achieving this goal.
Overtourism will destroy us. Not enough water, food, housing and now this. It’s time to stop increasing numbers of visitors and develop other sustainable healthy industries alongside tourism.
This isn’t news, many countries have known about this for at least 15 years. What does our government do? Arrive last place behind the slowest turtle to now try and avoid an imminent disaster when it is just about too late.
Instead they only concerned about enforcing some old bullshit law banning the sales of alcohol on Good Friday. We are a nation that depends heavily on tourism and this is what the government is enforcing? Total bunch a shit. Instead of the police catching criminals and protecting people, they banning alcohol on Good Friday. Pure ignorance.
We really have a bunch of morons in government. Hope it isn’t too late for the marine environment.
Everyone has known this for years but the government is only now picking up on it? Very ignorant!! Antigua is an island surrounded by sea and sun meaning EVERYONE should be using sunscreen to prevent early skin aging and skin cancer. So antigua should only be selling mineral and reef sage sunscreens from brands like Australian gold or sun bum is a good one. The sad thing is many mineral sunscreens are expensive however sunscreens with the harmful chemicals that are considered “high end” are even more expensive so spend your money and the reef friendly stuff and import the reef friendly ones instead of the the chemical filled ones I suggest. I have been using mineral sunscreen and it is also a lot better for our skin!!
How about banning the harvesting of Parottfish as they are primarily responsible for keeping the coral alive and well
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