Conrad Bimini Bay Resort and Casino was part of a "new village" concept real estate development that was fought by local residents, scientists and environmentalists - it may be that it will never happen, at least as a Hilton property, if Hilton / Conrad want to avoid endless lawsuits and a black eye.

Developer Gerard Capo was issued permits in what was supposed to have been designated as a Marine Protected Area that allowed destruction of mangrove forests, which in turn would decrease the production of fish impacing local people's self-sustainability and destroy one of the world's major Lemon shark habitats.

Very similar to what happened at Cancún - Nichupté Lagoon was a major fish hatching and juvenile shelter area, and a number of fishers made their living in this area until the government, with computer studies showing this as good place to establish a resort and some insider deals, allowed the construction of Cancún resort where there had been nothing but a critical habitat for fish, turtles, Morrelet's crocodile and more - both sustainable protein for locals and commercially valuable to the people of Quintana Roo (many of how went to work as busboys, dishwashers, etc. during the good seasons and make do during low season - why they refer to November as "Novi-hambre").

I am not trying to make any political statements here - those belong in OMNI/PR - but merely to recap what has been happening on the ground in the Bahamas with this massive resort project.