The Bahamas has one of the last remaining Nassau Grouper populations in the world; the fish is now commercially extinct in many places where it was once abundant. Nassau grouper is on the World Conservation Union’s red list of endangered species and it is completely protected in U.S. federal waters. Our Bahamian Nassau grouper is also severely threatened ﾗ populations have declined and fishermen must go further to find only smaller and smaller fish. We have the choice now to follow the footsteps of other countries and end up with no grouper at all, or to manage our grouper properly so that we have a sustainable supply for the future.
Nassau groupers are particularly susceptible to over-fishing because they ‘group’ together or aggregate in the thousands to reproduce. This makes them easy to catch, and many of the fish caught at the spawning aggregations are full of eggs that have not yet been released. The Department of Fisheries has invested in years of research on how to sustainably manage our grouper supply, and in the winters of 1998-2000, put in place no-fishing zones around some of the spawning sites. Fishermen recognised that this was a necessary step to protect the fishery, and were supportive of these closures. However, the protection was discontinued during the past two spawning seasons, and uncontrolled fishing of spawning grouper took place.
In October 2002 you announced that there was to be a closed season for Nassau Grouper during the fish’s winter spawning months; you were quoted as saying: “If we allow it (Nassau grouper stock) to be depleted by not having a closed season, we would soon be like the rest of the world having no grouper to sell or to eat. We have an obligation not only to those who fish but to those future Bahamians yet unborn to protect the industry. I would rather close the season for three months and protect it for life than to open it year-round and in five years we have nothing.”
To the concern of fishermen, scientists and people who enjoy their grouper fingers and boil fish, no closed season was ever implemented. We have learned from other countries that if we fish out our grouper stocks, they will not return.
It is urgent that we act now ﾗthe Department of Fisheries has recommended a closed season for Nassau grouper, like we already have for crawfish. We should implement a closed season between November and February, and announce it now to give fishermen sufficient notice. We look to you and your ministry to seize this opportunity and protect our fishing industry, our fish stocks and our fish-eating way of life.
Yours, etc.,
Casuarina Mckinney
Executive Director, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF)
Letter To The Editor, The Nassau Guardian
