The Queen conch (Aliger gigas) is a vital ecological and economic resource in Jamaica, yet its populations are increasingly threatened by overfishing. The Queen Conch Mobile lab, a first for Jamaica, is a product of a collaboration between the UWI-DBML, Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the Jamaica Conch Restoration Project Ltd, with funding from the U.S Embassy in Kingston.

The quantity of plastics and marine debris in the Kingston Harbour area and its effect on the natural environment is alarming. However marine organisms are often trapped, suffocated, ensnared and killed by plastic debris.
   

Refuge Cay forms one of the few completely isolated mangrove islands in the Port Royal Mangroves of Kingston Harbour. Consequently, it is home to numerous species of birds which roost and nest in the canopy of the mangrove trees, and also provides a nursery area and feeding ground for aquatic organisms (snapper, snook, jack, shrimp, oysters and lobsters). Refuge cay also forms the north-western border of Hurricane Refuge Lagoon which has provided safe anchorage for large vessels during hurricanes.