On behalf of my company, Tropic Seafood Ltd and many local and international NGO’s, I wish to voice our objection to the granting of a license for this or any other company to harvest and export either of these marine resources.
These practices have proven extremely detrimental to both species worldwide and there is irrefutable evidence that stock levels of sea urchins and sharks are in very serious decline and in some cases extremely close to extinction.
The Bahamas is presently engaged in a Fisheries Improvement Plan for our lobster fisheries with the intention of obtaining full Marine Stewardship Council accreditation within three to four years time.
It is our goal to prove to the world that the Bahamas is a good steward of our marine environment and that we practise safe, sensible fishing methods which will ensure the sustainability of our fishing industry for generations to come.
Sea Urchin harvesting and shark fining is not, in my opinion, conducive to what we are about and I cannot support either practice.
GLENN PRITCHARD
Tropic Seafood Limited
Nassau, Bahamas
September, 2010.
