Katie Thompson is Program Coordinator for CubaMar (cubamar.org), a program of The Ocean Foundation. CubaMar has worked with key Cuban institutions for 17 years, the longest of any U.S.-based organization. It conducts collaborative scientific research to advance and inform conservation policy efforts in Cuba and the Wider Caribbean. It also runs people-to-people SCUBA diving trips to Guanahacabibes National Park on the western point of Cuba.
Luke Elder is currently a Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Luke previously worked as a Program Associate with The Ocean Foundation on sustainable travel and tourism, corporate sustainability, ocean acidification, and blue carbon. It was in this role that Luke traveled with CubaMar to Cuba to conduct the work detailed in this article.
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