ANNUAL REPORT 2015/2016

Dedicated to the preservation & sustainability of our

marine resources for all future generations

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 2

ASSOCIATION OF REEF KEEPERS (ARK) ANNUAL REPORT 1 August 2015-1 August 2016

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Association of Reef Keepers (ARK)

P. O. Box 3252 PMB 2106

Road Town, Tortola

British Virgin Islands Vg 1110

info@bviark.org

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS Managing Director’s Foreword 4

Board of Directors 5

Overview of the year 6

Sea Turtle Conservation 8

Coral Restoration 9

Ridge to Reef 10

Sustainable Yachting 11

Financials 12

Collaborators 13

Supporters 14

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ANNUAL REPORT 4

FORWORD This is our second year since ARK was resurrected from what would have been

a sad ending to an old organisation that started 23 years ago. Rebuilding ARK

slowly from the ground up and learning the ins & outs of the nonprofit world

have been a personal challenge but those moments of “what was I thinking?”

over the first year have slowly turned into moments of “we can actually do

this!” over this past year.

From receiving official Cabinet approval to develop coral nurseries in the

Territory, having ARK featured in an article in the BVI Welcome Magazine to

actually having some funds to further develop our programmes and attend

conferences, we are actually starting to make waves. They may still be small

waves but I prefer being a little cautious moving forward to develop projects

under each of the four programmes that are most rewarding for the

community as a whole.

I look forward to the coming year and hoping the thought of “we can

actually do this” turns into “we actually did this!”.

Dr. Shannon Gore

Managing Director, ARK

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ANNUAL REPORT 5

Board of directors

Clive Petrovic

Casey McNutt

Chris Haycraft

Dylan Penn

Mervin Hastings

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ANNUAL REPORT 6

YEAR IN REVIEW

AUGUST

The year started (August 1st) with ARK finally being able to purchase all the turtle tagging

equipment and rash tops for both the Conservation & Fisheries

Department (CFD) and ARK.

SEPTEMBER

Started working with the BVI Humane Society to assist in developing best practices for the

new shelter under the Ridge to Reef Programme

OCTOBER

Turtle Encounters with the Discovery Channel at Peter Island Resort

NOVEMBER

Works commenced under the Governor’s Jubilee Funds for the Marine Spatial Planning

Initiative for the North Sound & Sister Islands

DECEMBER

Turtle Encounters trip with Little Dix Bay before they closed down for 18 months for

renovations

JANUARY

Held several stakeholder meetings in the North Sound for the Sustainable Yachting

programme

The Discovery Channel staff tags a turtle!

One of the maps used for stakeholders to identify areas of concern for the North Sound

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ANNUAL REPORT 7

Sargassum Workshop on Moskito Island. From L: Dr. Kedrick Pickering (Minister of Natural Resources & Labour), Sir Richard Branson, Dr. Shannon Gore, ARK Board of Directors Clive Petrovic and Mervin Hastings

YEAR IN REVIEW (CONTINUED)

FEBRUARY

Attendance & presentation at the Sargassum Workshop on Moskito Island;

Turtle Encounters with Hello Ocean

MARCH

ARK & CFD attended the World Sea Turtle Symposium in Lima, Peru

APRIL

Turtle Encounters with the Maverick 1000 group from Necker Island;

ARK Attendance to the Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii

MAY

Trained the Summer Sailing programme trainers in turtle tagging for the Summer Sailing

Programmes

JUNE

ARKs First World Sea Turtle Day fundraiser;

Bitter End Yacht Club & Sunchaser Scuba joined ARKs family of partners for the Turtle

Encounters Project

JULY

ARK Managing Director nominated for the BVI Climate Change Trust Fund Board

Maverick 1000 tagging turtles!

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 8

Sea Turtle Conservation

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR:

Partnering with the Government's Conservation & Fisheries Department

to better understand the status of sea turtle populations throughout the

Territory

• TOTAL TURTLES TAGGED: 54

• TOTAL AMOUNT OF $ RAISED: $25, 830

• ATTENDANCE AT THE ANNUAL SEA TURTLE

SYMMPOSIUM (LIMA, PERU): 2

• Little Dix Bay, Peter Island Resort, Bitter End Yacht Club, Necker Island’s Maverick 1000 & the

Discovery Channel partnered with ARK this year to participate in the Turtle Encounters Project

• Provided new uniforms for our Summer Sailing Turtle Encounters Programme

• Held our first Annual World Sea Turtle Day fundraiser on June 16th

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 9

Coral restoration

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR: • Unexpected but highly appreciated donations from Festiva Sailing Vacations (donated 5% of their sales from April

2016 to ARK’s coral resotration programme); Teens4Oceans & Ms. Roberts’ 2nd grade class also helped raise money

for ARK’s coral nurseries

• Watching coral fragments grow from about 3” in length to almost 20” in length over the year!

Raising coral fragments in nurseries and replanting on degraded reefs

• SURVUVAL RATE OF CORALS IN NURSERIES: 93.1%

• TOTAL AMOUNT OF $ RAISED: $1128.72

• ATTENDANCE TO THE CORAL REEF SYMPOSIUM

(HONOLULU, HAWAII): 1

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 10

Ridge to reef

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR: • Formed a partnership with the BVI Humane Society to assist with creating a constructed wetland and stormwater

mitigation for their new animal shelter they are developing near the Josiah’s Bay wetland.

Facilitating community participation in public projects that help reduce

flooding, island erosion and sedimentation in nearshore coastal waters.

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ANNUAL REPORT 11

Sustainable yachting

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR: • Stakeholder meetings clearly identified the need for a marine spatial plan for the North Sound area which will lay

the Sustainable Yachting programme’s foundation to actively meet the needs of the Territory-wide yachting

community.

Educating the yachting community about best practices

• TOTAL NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS: 8

• TOTAL AMOUNT OF $ RAISED THROUGH

DONATIONS & GRANTS: $4120.41

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ANNUAL REPORT 12

FINANCIALS

MEMBERSHIPS $ 1,860

GENERAL DONATIONS $ 3,500

EVENTS $ 3,625

GRANTS $ 2,620

SPECIFIC PROGRAMME DONATIONS $ 28,459

TOTAL $40,064

5%9%

9%

6%

71%

2015/2016 INCOME Memberships

General Donations

Events

Grants

Specific Programme

Donations

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 13

PROGRAMME COSTS $ 19,832

ANNUAL FEES $ 475

BANK & SERVICE CHARGES $ 518

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS $ 1,177

PROFESSIONAL FEES $ 7,778

TOTAL $29,780

66%2%2%

4%

26%

2015/2016 EXPENSESProgramme Costs

Annual Fees

(Registration &

Licensing)

Bank & Service

Charges

Administrative Costs

(supplies, marketing &

promotional)

Professional Fees

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ANNUAL REPORT 14

COLLABORATIONS

2015/2016

ANNUAL REPORT 15

SUPPORTERS