CEI: Sharks generate $114 mil. annually as ecotourism attraction One month after Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard suggested that it is up for debate whether to continue the full protection of sharks in The Bahamas, or allow for commercial harvesting on a temporary basis, The Bahamas is being praised in international circles for having the healthiest shark population in the region, which brings $114 million into the country annually as an ecotourism attraction. A press statement, released by the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI), The Moore Charitable Foundation and Global FinPrint at Florida International University, explained that one of CEI’s studies determined that much of that $114 million is injected into “economically depressed areas like the Family Islands”, by ecotourists.