The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

, covering about of the northwestern part of the Family Islands. The Berry Islands consist of about thirty

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s and over one hundred small islands or cays, often referred to as "The Fish Bowl of The Bahamas." They have a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 807 (2010 census), most of whom are on Great Harbour Cay. The islands were settled in 1836 by Governor William Colebrooke with a group of freed

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Attractions

The Berry Islands are still relatively undeveloped, with two small regional airports and no hotels, but do have townhouses and beach villas for rent for visitors. Most of the islands are uninhabited, but are strikingly beautiful. During the winter season the islands are visited by out-of-town guests and second home residents, but the difficulty of reaching the Berry Islands and the lack of infrastructure keeps things low-key. Due to seasonal residents, the Berry islands can say that they have more resident millionaires per unit area than any other place in the world. The main attraction is big game fishing. Some of the fish that can be found there are billfish, tuna, grouper, tiger fish, yellowtail snapper, wahoo, king mackerel, and many more. In May, Great Harbour Cay is packed with visitors and fishing captains who go there for the annual fishing

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

. There are also great spots for snorkelling and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

Islands

Map of the Berry Islands Great Harbour Cay is the most northern and the largest of the Berry Islands. It is long and wide. The largest port of the Berries is on Great Harbour Cay. It is served by Great Harbour Cay Airport. Chub Cay, site of Chub Cay International Airport, is the second largest island in the chain and is known as "the billfish capital of The Bahamas." Little Stirrup Cay is leased by Royal Caribbean International, which calls it CocoCay, and acts as a private island for tropical activities engaged in by visitors on its cruise ships of the Royal Caribbean and

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group. Celebrity Cruises was founded in 1988 by the Greece-based Chandris Group, and merged with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in ...

labels. Great Stirrup Cay is owned by

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is an American cruise line founded in Norway in 1966, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and incorporated in the Bahamas. It is the List of cruise lines, fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling ...

and is used for similar purposes. Cistern Cay is a private island located next to Great Harbour Cay. Little Whale Cay a private island that was developed as residence by Wallace Groves in the 1930s. It is served by the Lt. Whale Cay Airport.

Politics

For elections to the Parliament of The Bahamas, the district is part of the North Andros and Berry Islands constituency.

References

Archipelagoes of the Bahamas Districts of the Bahamas {{Bahamas-geo-stub