Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park rules: what boaters and visitors must follow

The Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park rules are short, and each one is easy to follow once you know it. Fees and rules change, so check the Bahamas National Trust’s ParkPay page before you pay or go ashore.

The rules below follow the order a boat meets them: what you take, where you anchor, how fast you go, then what you do ashore. The wider Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park hub links to fees, boundaries and history.

Take nothing: the no-take zone

The park is a no-take zone: no fishing, conching, shelling or lobstering, and nothing living or dead may be removed from within the park boundaries¹.

That covers a shell off the beach as well as a lobster off the reef. Leave everything where it is. Poaching violations bring fines and confiscation of vessels¹.

To report poaching or suspicious activity, call “Exuma Park” on VHF channel 09³. You can stay anonymous by naming your vessel “Miss Molly” or any other fictitious name³. Read the full no-take zone guide for the reasoning and the reporting steps.

Anchoring, moorings and speed

Anchoring is not permitted in the mooring fields, on coral reefs and certain other designated areas within the park¹.

Every vessel, dinghies and jet skis included, must run at idle speed in any mooring field or anchorage¹. Jet skis must stay at least 300 yards off any moored or anchored vessel¹.

Shroud Cay has its own rule. The north tidal creek is a strict idle speed, no-wake zone, and motorized vessels may not enter any of the other tidal creeks there¹.

Rates for moorings and anchoring are on the fees and mooring fees page. Where you can and cannot drop the hook is covered in the anchoring rules guide.

Ashore: trails, trash, fires and pets

Stay on marked trails and follow the Exuma Park Trail Guidelines¹. There is no trash disposal anywhere in the park, so take out everything you bring in¹. Plan for that before you leave the dock: bag your garbage and keep it aboard.

Open fires and fireworks are not permitted in Exuma Park¹.

Pets

Pets are restricted to beaches only and are not allowed on trails or in the brush¹. A leash may be no longer than 6 feet¹. Pets may not be tied to trees, bushes, tables or shelter facilities, even when the owners are present¹.

Over the years pets have destroyed bird nesting sites and cost the park rare or endangered species, including rock iguanas and hutia¹. Captive wild species, native or not, and barnyard animals are banned from park property¹. More on those animals is in the wildlife guide.

Camping

Camping needs a permit, costs $250 and is valid for a maximum of 10 days¹. Camping is allowed only at Hawksbill, Warderick Wells and O’Briens¹.

Notify the park headquarters at least two weeks before your planned date, so your stay does not clash with other park users¹.

Drones and aircraft

The Trust’s bylaws set one rule for the air. Unless authorized, no person may take off in an aircraft from a park, or fly or hover over a park at less than 1,000 feet². The bylaws count drones as aircraft, so a drone launched from your boat or beach needs authorization first². Operators must also comply with any civil aviation law in force at the time².

If you want footage, ask the park office before you launch anything. Do not assume an anchorage is outside the boundary.

Contact and emergencies

The park office is on a remote small island, so reaching it can be hard³. Call “Exuma Park” on VHF channel 09³. Office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 9am to 12pm³. Channel 16 is monitored 24 hours a day for emergencies, and the Bahamas Defence Force can be contacted on VHF 16³.

Three Defence Force officers are stationed at park headquarters to help park staff with enforcement³. See the fees page so you know what you will pay on the ball.

Print the park rules card to keep on board.