Marine life being depleted in St. Kitts
Local diver calls for preservation
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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| Kenneth Samuel, fisherman and diver for some 50 years calls for government to act swiftly to assist with replenishing marine life |
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A prominent local diver is beseeching the powers that be to act swiftly to preserve marine life around the island or risk its total diminution which would have a devastating effect on tourism and the economy.
Kenneth Samuel of Kenneth’s Dive Centre spoke at length with SKNVibes yesterday (Jan. 12) about an issue with which he has been concerned for the past several years.
Ken, as he is popularly known, explained that his problem lies within the very real possibility that, within the next five years or less, should the issue not be addressed, fish, conchs, lobsters and other marine life would be exhausted.
A fisherman and diver for some 50 years, Ken explained that over the past years, the actions of fishermen and the failure of government to impose necessary regulations have been successful in diminishing the “stock” of marine life to dangerously low levels.
“I have a problem with the fishing industry mainly because the fishermen are not educated...and I have to use that strong word. We are not educated to the point of knowing when to stop fishing in a certain area. We just keep taking, taking, taking, and we are still saying there are no fish there when we are the ones who are cutting our own throats.”
He spoke of his diving and fishing expeditions of 40 years ago and compared them with more recent ones, noting that in some areas marine life had diminished by some 80 percent.
“Right now there are no fish in the area where I used to fish about 40 years ago. The fish that are there are just as big as your fingernail. Yet there are fishermen trying to fish in the same area to catch the little ones that are trying to survive to reproduce...That’s where I get involved with Fisheries, and not only that but with Government, but I started with Fisheries first. I went to Fisheries and I told them that we are having a problem here and I think we need to stop the fishermen from fishing there for a time so that the fish can spawn and reproduce again.”
Following the closure of the sugar industry in 2005, tourism became St. Kitts’ bread and butter industry with the island offering its sandy white beaches, historical sites and marine exhibitions. Ken explained that marine life is vital to St. Kitts’s tourism industry and with the attenuation of marine life comes an adverse effect on tourism. ~~Adz:Right~~
“My area of concern is, now that we are in a tourism trade and we are now pushing St. Kitts as a tourist destination, we’re not having anything in certain areas in terms of marine life and that is my fight. Not only that, the areas where we wound fish and look for conchs, the fish stock and the conchs stock have dropped drastically. This is where I believe the Fisheries should have made a more vital role in making proposals to government in order to stop fishermen from fishing in certain areas.”
The veteran fisherman said he has written a number of letters to the Department of Fisheries outlining his concerns and informing of his availability to discuss possible solutions. He says his wait for a response continues.
He told SKNVibes however, the problem of possible depletion of marine life can be easily remedied through the imposition of fishing restrictions which would enable fish in a particular area to spawn develop, and the creation of an artificial reef that would encourage spawning.
“What I am saying is we need to have boundaries for at least one year. My opinion is that the entire fishing industry from Nag’s Head to Old Road, no one needs to be fishing in those areas. It just needs to rest! Because, if we have been fishing there for the last 100 years, don’t expect it to last for the next 20 years because there is nothing there. I am proposing to government that it is time that they get smart. Seeing that we are into tourism and we want to keep the fishing trade alive, we need to tell the fishermen they can’t fish in a particular area for the next six months or one year and let the fish replenish. The ocean is big and when a specific part is closed down, fishermen can go out further to catch the bigger fish.”
While he admitted that any imposition of fishing regulations would “hurt for a while”, these hurts will be far outweighed by the long-term benefits.
“This is the time when we have to take drastic measures. Yes, they will be hurting for a while but look at the long term benefits they will have. Ten years ago, there was the same problem in St. Thomas and the government decided to close off the area, and today they are reaping the benefits from it. They close it for like six months, open it for like three months and they close it again so fish always there.”
Though the situation is grim, Ken maintains that all hope is not lost but it requires immediate action if the restoration efforts are to be effective
“In the next five years, we won’t have any fish around here. We have been importing fish for the last 10 years and it is getting worse now because we don’t have the fish in the water like we use to have five years ago. These are no gimmicks, these are facts. Every single day I dive, so I know what is there, what used to be there and what is not there and what can be there if we start now to protect it.”
