Published On:Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Tribune Staff Reporter

mreynolds@tribunemedia.net

ABACO fishermen are setting out for the start of the new crawfish season armed with the knowledge that “size matters” as a grassroots campaign to protect undersized crawfish.

The campaign, driven by local environmental education organisation Friends of the Environment, climaxed yesterday as hundreds of T-shirts bearing the campaign logo were worn by fishermen, buyers, exporters, business people and locals across Abaco to heighten awareness of the issue before the opening of crawfish season.

A new catch certificate requirement for crawfish comes into force across the country for the first time tomorrow, and Abaco is proud to say more than 500 fishermen are fully aware of the importance of not taking crawfish with tails shorter than five-and-a-half inches and equipment to help them measure live crawfish tails underwater.

Friends of the Environment education officer D’Shan Maycock said: “We have led the way in Abaco in terms of this initiative and we are confident to say that Abaco fishermen this season will be measuring up."

She developed the campaign after fishermen expressed concern over the fishing of juvenile crawfish. Friends worked in partnership with buyers, exporters, restaurants and the Department of Marine Resources to stop the illegal practice.

Now all of the fisheries are on board as the nation comes to grips with the new catch certificate programme adopted this year to help the Bahamas achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards.

Without the certification and MSC approval, the Bahamas would be unable to export crawfish in the future, Mrs Maycock said.

Although the paperwork may seem tedious for some, 18 months of community outreach work has put Abaco fishermen one step ahead as they are fully aware of the importance of this market-driven initiative that will protect their industry.

They understand the logbooks they complete will allow their crawfish to be tracked from a French dining table back to them by the catch certificate.

"Europe won’t take anything that comes into the country without them," she said.

"Some countries have said if the Bahamas does not improve by 2011 they will cut us off.

"But if we do achieve the MSC standard we will be a leader in the region and that is something we can be proud of."