Fisheries board debates future of grouper
For a hungry fisherman, the sight of a Nassau Grouper sitting fat and pretty beneath a coral head is about as good as it gets. But that sight is rarely seen these days. What to do about the situation, as News 5’s Janelle Chanona reports, is the subject of some debate.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
For years, the Nassau Grouper has been a major revenue earner for Belizean fishermen. But recent studies on the grouper population in local waters have revealed that the species is dying out. The experts contend the alarming situation could be the result of over fishing or changes in the environment. Local conservation groups are now lobbying for serious measures such as making it illegal to catch the grouper for a set period, banning spear fishing or closing fourteen known spawning sites year round to get give the fish a chance to catch up.
Today, the Fisheries Advisory Board met with interested parties to discuss the recommendations.
James Hyde, Chairman, Fisheries Advisory Board
“They had recommended that fourteen years he closed totally to fishing for the Nassau Grouper. The meeting agreed that we’d recommend to the minister that twelve, and that two be excluded, and those two would be Maugre Caye and the tip of Northern Two Cayes.”
Janelle Chanona
“Why those two cayes?”
James Hyde
“Mainly because those are areas where many fishermen earn their living. And if you close the country totally, you will deprive them of their livelihood.”
According to Hyde, some recommendations weren’t accepted, such as a ban on spear-fishing for grouper, because enforcement would be too difficult.
James Hyde
“We can close areas ad nauseum, but if you can’t manage them you get no useful information from them.”
Industry insiders say enforcing regulations is a significant obstacle, as authorities must contend with both local lawbreakers and foreign fishermen.
Beverly Wade, Fisheries Administrator
“As one fisherman said today, that the fishing community in Belize is conservation minded, although they are not really thought about as being that way. I don’t think that as Belizeans we would have problems enforcing it. We have partnered with the fishing communities on several occasions and with the NGO communities, and I think we could pull it off. It’s just a matter of our presence out ther4e, because the main problem is mainly the Hondurans that are coming in to fish these banks at night.”
As recently as 1999, Nassau groupers could be found in abundance, today, researchers say some historical sites are already devoid of the species. Reporting for News 5, I am Janelle Chanona.
According to local environmental groups, Nassau Groupers are over-fished throughout the Caribbean and have now been listed as an endangered species.
