Above: Antigua (Photo: Antigua Tourism)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda has the Caribbean’s “healthiest” oceans, according to the Ocean Health Index.

The index is a collaboration between 65 scientists and partnerships between organizations including National Geographic, the New England Aquarium and others.

The report scores countries based on the health of their Exclusive Economic Zones, meaning the areas “over which a coastal nation has exclusive regulatory control over economic and resource management.”

Antigua was followed by Suriname and the Bahamas as the next-healthiest ocean zones.

The scores are based on the Index’s 10 public goals for a healthy coupled human-ocean system.

The categories include Food Provision, Artisanal Fishing Opportunities, Natural Products, Carbon Storage, Coastal Protection, Coastal Livelihoods & Economies, Tourism and Recreation, Sense of Place, Clean Waters and Biodiversity.

See the chart below for the full Caribbean rankings (note: overseas territories were grouped together as blocs in the report):