[Coral-List] Distructive fishing practices in the Caribbean--long

Fri Apr 30 16:38:15 EDT 2004

Bon dia Fernando!

Great to hear from you Fernando, I hope you are doing well!, a manager at
the sharp end!! I know that in Bonaire, 'the optimum solutions' have been
identified but the implementation is not down to the managers but to the
public/governing bodies involved. I fully agree with Mr. Dunbars -take and
+stake idea (and it is very easy to elaborate) and I believe this is the
crux of conservation thought that needs to be addressed ASAP.

Duncan MacRae.

P.s. for all those Parrot fish fans out there, I have observed S.
coelestinus in pairs grazing over a localised (200m of fringing reef) area
diurnally. Also the juveniles of the same species were observed in very high
concentrations in the mangroves of Lac Bay on the Eastern side of
Bonaire........

Blythe Cottage,
22 Rosemundy,
St Agnes,
Cornwall.
TR5 0UD

----- Original Message -----
From: "bmp" <marinepark at bmp.org>
To: "Szmant, Alina" <szmanta at uncw.edu>; "Melissa Keyes"
<mekvinga at yahoo.com>; <Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Distructive fishing practices in the
Caribbean--long

> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm happy to inform you that we have made good progress lately with the
> fisherman on Bonaire. We are on our way to establish some fish protected
> areas (no fishing zones). Next month fishermen from St. Lucia will come to
> Bonaire and share experiences from their zones with our fishermen as part
of
> this proccess.
>
> Also, (by fishermen request this time) we are in the process of setting up
> moorings for the fishermen to avoid the rock anchors. We are waiting for
> indications from the fishermen (they have to agree among themselves and
> that's not always easy) on the locations to place them.
>
> So yes, we hear and we're working on it, however the proccess is a lot
> slower than we would like.
> ***********************************************
> Fernando Simal
> Interim Manager
> Bonaire National Marine Park
> PO Box 368
> Bonaire
> Netherlands Antilles
> Tel:  599 7178444
> Fax: 599  7177318
>
> Email: marinepark at bmp.org
> Homepage: www.bmp.org
> *************************************************
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Szmant, Alina" <szmanta at uncw.edu>
> To: "Melissa Keyes" <mekvinga at yahoo.com>; <Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 08:01 AM
> Subject: RE: [Coral-List] Distructive fishing practices in the
> Caribbean--long
>
>
> > Dear Melissa:
> >
> > You paint a very sad and I am sure true story about the inexorable human
> fishing pressure on Caribbean reefs.  I vividly remember the huge schools
of
> midnights and blues along Salt River canyon at dusk back in the 80s
(during
> Hydrolab days) and it really makes me mad that anyone would kill those
> animals.  When I dove there in 2000 I noticed how depleted the fishes were
> (as well as the corals) compared to a decade earlier.  In Bonaire I also
> remarked to Kalli DeMeyer about tha lack of fishes; and my first encounter
> with a local was with a fellow fishing from the back step of the house we
> had rented:  he had a pile of 6-8 inch coneys and red hinds next to his
> feet.
> >
> > Bonaire still has really healthy coral compared to anywhere else I have
> visited recently in the Caribbean, but without the fishes, the coral
> community is poised for a disaster... A major disturbance that kills a lot
> of coral and it may end up looking like Jamaica!
> >
> > Thank you for bringing your observations to our attention.  Maybe some
of
> the managers will read your message and work harder to prevent such
> activities.
> >
> > Alina Szmant
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov on behalf of Melissa Keyes
> > Sent: Thu 4/29/2004 6:00 PM
> > To: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > Cc:
> > Subject: [Coral-List] Distructive fishing practices in the
Caribbean--long
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear Dr Dunbar, and fellow Listers,
> >
> > Non-Jamaica comments.  Jamaica is so desperately poor that the
surrounding
> sea is probably doomed.
> >
> > I have lived in the Caribbean, and worked in the scuba industry since
> 1988.  In St. Croix, my home, I've worked at dive shops, filling scuba
tanks
> for the fishermen.  While not approving of their lifestyle, I would
pretend
> to be approving, and ask questions about their practices.
> >
> > One fellow bragged about how many three foot "Midnight Parrotfish" he'd
> shot on the Salt River West Wall.  Another was laughing about the 300+
pound
> catches of reef fish they would get in the Buck Island Park (National
> Monument), before nine in the morning, when the Park people might show up.
> >
> > The Department of Parks and Recreation people here in the USVI are
> underfunded, under staffed, and over worked.
> >
> > I spend  six months each year, hurricane season, on my boat moored in
> Bonaire, in what is a park.  I went to a Marine Protected area there to
help
> with a supervised coral/ fish survey.  The lady conducting the program
said,
> "There are NO fish."  I couldn't comprehend, until my buddy and I,
finished
> our task of placing the survey measuring tape, burned the remaining air in
> our tanks going down to 120 feet of depth.  The coral was pristine and
> beautiful, but the lady was right, there were NO fish.  Zero grunts,
coneys,
> or any fish , umm, spearable sized.  At 120 feet or so depth, I did see a
> large "Tiger Grouper"  much deeper, running away as fast as he/she could
> swim.
> >
> > There are never any commercial boatloads of recreational divers in the
> area.  Perhaps their park people are as over worked and underfunded as all
> the others worldwide.
> >
> > On Bonaire, the 'traditional' fishermen in their little boats are
> restricted from using anchors of any type.  They are allowed to use heavy
> cotton string tied to a big rock for an anchor.  Their smashing damage is
> obvious to a sharp eye on nearly every dive, I very sad to say.  And,
> occasionally, the string is all tangled in the reef.  I already have been
> chastised for reporting what I see there.
> >
> > In the British Virgin Islands, there is an open season on sea turtles!
> You can go to an Island restaurant and eat turtle, as you can in the
> Bahamas!  I know they're not coral, and perhaps shouldn't be mentioned
here.
> >
> > I have no desire to ever visit Jamaica, sorry.  The "grinding poverty"
> there has upset cruising friends who did visit.
> >
> > Cheers!
> >
> > Melissa E. Keyes,
> > s/v Vinga, Caribbean
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
>
>
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