Tuesday, October 13, 2026 · 6:30 PM Bahamas time

Exuma on Trial: A Court Fight Over Sampson Cay, a Conch Nursery, and the Islands Everyone Loves

A Supreme Court battle over the Rosewood Exuma project could decide the future of a queen conch nursery. Plus Exuma’s 20th Business Outlook, a $20 million marina makeover at Highbourne Cay, and everything you need to know before you go.

Listen to Part 1 of 5

The fight for North Bay

Three hundred and sixty-five cays. Water so blue it looks painted. And right now, a courtroom drama that could change one corner of it for good.

In the Supreme Court in Nassau, a legal battle over the Rosewood Exuma development on Sampson Cay is heating up. Two neighbouring developments, Turtlegrass Resort and Island Club and the private island Over Yonder Cay, are asking the court to overturn the project’s environmental approvals. The developer is Yntegra, a Miami-based group.

The fight centres on North Bay on Sampson Cay, where the plans include a service dock and the dredging of about one and a quarter acres of the bay.

Fred Smith, KC, who represents Turtlegrass, told the court that a breakwater for that dock grew to about 390 feet long, and argued it was never put to the public during consultation. He also argued that the Director of Environmental Planning and Protection breached her duty to the public.

Those are arguments made in court by one side. The judge has not ruled. Inside Climate News reported on October 11 that a spokesperson for the Save Exuma Alliance expects a decision within weeks.

What lives in that water

There is a nature story under the legal one. Scientists say the bay is a nursery for queen conch, a species the United States lists as threatened. Shedd Aquarium researcher Andy Kough warned that changing the water flow in those channels could hurt young conch.

Business: the 20th Exuma Business Outlook

This Thursday, October 15, the 20th annual Exuma Business Outlook takes place at the St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Community Center. The theme is “Strengthening Foundations for Long-Term Prosperity.” According to The Nassau Guardian, the agenda covers aviation, including the airports at George Town, Staniel Cay and Black Point, along with workforce training, entrepreneurship and diversifying the economy.

A name to know: Bryan Strachan of Aquaquest Escapes, a local Exuma tour business, sits on the entrepreneurship panel alongside Carson Gray of Exuma TV.

In the northern Exumas, Highbourne Cay, about 35 miles southeast of Nassau, says construction begins this fall on a new beach club and a $20 million marina redevelopment with floating docks. For boaters, the key detail: the cay stays open to day visitors and overnight guests during the work.

Where to go, eat, stay and shop

Big Major Cay, home of the famous swimming pigs, comes first. Right next door, near Staniel Cay, is Thunderball Grotto, the hidden cave you snorkel into, featured in the James Bond film Thunderball.

For food and drinks with a view, the Staniel Cay Yacht Club is a classic boaters’ stop. From George Town, a short boat ride across Elizabeth Harbour takes you to Stocking Island, where Chat ’N’ Chill sits right on the beach.

To stay, there is Sandals Emerald Bay on Great Exuma for the all-inclusive crowd, Grand Isle Resort nearby, and smaller guest houses around George Town for something local. To shop, the Exuma Straw Market in George Town sells handmade straw work, and Exuma Markets is the go-to grocery for stocking the boat.

For natural fun, there is the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the first land and sea park of its kind in the world, created in 1958. It is a no-take zone: no fishing or collecting inside the park.

Tonight’s weather for boaters: the National Weather Service marine forecast for the central Bahamas shows mostly easterly winds around 10 knots, seas of two to four feet and a chance of scattered showers. No tropical development is expected in the coming days.

Next, in Part 2, we head to the far south: Inagua and its flamingos, Mayaguana, Acklins and Crooked Island, and Long Island’s fight with the mailboat.