The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

AGRICULTURE and Marine Resources Minister Renward Wells is under fire for comments he made last week concerning the potential shortening of the Nassau grouper closed season, with local environmental groups and international advocates condemning the proposal as an ill-advised misstep.

In a release this weekend, the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) called on Mr Wells to engage with all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) before making a decision on the matter.

BNT in that release noted it had written the minister on the issue to express concern over the potential move and advised against it.

The release stated: “The BNT has also reached out to the minister, seeking to engage in dialogue before any decisions are made. We understand he is busy as chair of the 5th Meeting of the ACP Ministers of Fisheries and Aquaculture that the Bahamas is hosting, but we are still hopeful of meeting with Minister Wells to discuss this important matter. It was at the opening of that conferences where Prime Minister (Dr Hubert Minnis) reaffirmed The Bahamas’ commitment to marine protected areas to secure the future of our marine resources.

“As the BNT has been mandated to advise the ministry on environmental impacts and policy, the BNT would advise that this seemingly short-term solution to hardships could have an extremely devastating impact on a species that is already in peril.”

Last week, Mr Wells told The Nassau Guardian members of the fishing industry have requested that government extend the grouper season.

“Many of the fishermen want us to move in that direction and we are going to take it into consideration,” he said.

However, the BNT said the Nassau grouper is listed as endangered.

“It has disappeared from many countries where it was previously common, and continues to decline in over 80 per cent of its range,” the BNT added.

“During the full moon between November to February, Nassau grouper travel from all around the Bahamas to join together in specific locations to mate and this pattern is well known. When fishermen exploit these grouper spawning aggregations, in just a few weeks they can capture nearly all of the groupers in a school, making this species vulnerable to being wiped out. Protection of the fish during these months where they are rendered vulnerable is one of the most important measures we can use to help ensure that we can continue to have grouper for many generations to come.”

The release added: “Weather events like hurricanes and storms are increasingly threatening to The Bahamas and our economy. It is important to note that marine ecosystems are also severely stressed by these powerful and destructive storms.

“In 2008, post-Ike, our Inagua wardens documented vast numbers of baby conch washed up onto shore and killed.

“In 1992, post-Andrew, the government of Louisiana estimated that more than nine million fish were killed offshore and an assessment of the Everglades Basin in Florida showed that 182 million fish were killed.

“It is therefore not unreasonable to expect ferocious Hurricane Irma, which destroyed thousands of lobster traps and habitats, likely also killed massive numbers of fish, likely including Nassau groupers.”

Additionally, executive director of BREEF Casuarina McKinney-Lambert said any move that shortens the Nassau grouper closed season damages the lives of current and future fishermen.

Mrs McKinney-Lambert insisted the Nassau grouper is vulnerable in a region that is slammed with major storms almost every year.

“This species is trying to recover following three consecutive years of major storms, to go this route will be devastating,” she said.

Her comments were endorsed by international advocate for the Nassau grouper Guy Harvey, who in an interview with The Tribune said he was troubled by the consideration.

“This can’t be followed through,” Mr Harvey, a Jamaican born artist currently living in the Cayman Islands. “Everything that can be done to stop this move, should be done because the fish are already endangered, and to limit spawning time in anyway could limit numbers moving forward.”

Mr Harvey called on The Bahamas government, specifically Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, to protect the species.

The closed season for Nassau grouper is December 1 to the end of February.