[Coral-List] Urgent request: Literature and MPA reports on spearfishing by artisanal fisheries

[RainbowWarriorsInternational]

The Aruban Government and Parliament are seriously considering lifting the ban now in place on spearfishing under the National Ordinance for the Protection of the Natural Environment.

Aruba does NOT have framework environmental legislation, it still does not have a marine protected area in place and has an unregulated water sports industry serving the 1,500,000 plus annual tourists.

The terrestrial protected area Parke Nacional Arikok was just stripped of all Government subsidies and the Spaans Lagoen wetland, a RAMSAR officially designated protected wetland is being destroyed daily by dozens of recreational four wheel ATVs which are plowing the sand and uprooting the dry areas in this semi-arid mangrove wetland.

Under such circumstances we feel that allowing even "regulated' spearfishing would provide the coup de grace to local fish stocks and coral reef ecosystems around Aruba.

We need however to back up our concerns with hard evidence-based science, with analogies from other Caribbean nations or similar small island developing states settings.

Any literature of MPA reports on this subject are welcome

 
Milton Ponson, President
Rainbow Warriors Core Foundation
(Rainbow Warriors International)
Tel. +297 568 5908
PO Box 1154, Oranjestad 
Aruba, Dutch Caribbean 
Email: southern_caribbean at yahoo.com
http://www.rainbowwarriors.net

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