thebahamasweekly.com - Turks and Caicos Islands extend lobster closed season by one month

From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Caribbean News
Turks and Caicos Islands extend lobster closed season by one month
By Government Press Office, Turks and Caicos Islands
Jul 11, 2011 - 5:13:43 PM

The Ministry of the Environment, DECR and members of the Fisheries Advisory Committee (FAC) presented proposals for the effective and sustainable management of the spiny lobster and queen conch fisheries.

In view of the substantial reduction in the lobster and conch catches in the past few years (and in the size of fish caught), the Council endorsed a number of recommendations, including extending the close season for lobster by one month until September; commissioning a bio-economic study of the fishery; issuing guidelines for capping next year’s conch catch at the same figure as this year; and conducting a visual survey of the conch fishery.

With respect to fin fish, concern was expressed about grouper and snapper stocks; and it was agreed that the FAC would discuss the situation further with fishermen before making any recommendations. The Council endorsed a recommendation to ban the catching of parrot fish.

The importance of adequate enforcement resources was underlined and it was agreed that the DECR would make an appropriate business case for consideration by the OPSM and Ministry of Finance.

The PS and Undersecretary for Education, Chairman of the Higher Education Board and Chief Financial Officer joined the Council for a discussion of policy on scholarships in the light of a recent consultancy.

The discussion covered the economic and social objectives of the scheme; number of scholarships; and ways of obtaining best value for money through, for example, developing partnerships with individual universities, better use of the Community College and more distance learning – with a view to enabling all students with the ability to do so to benefit from higher education.

The Ministry of Education was invited to work with the Ministry of Finance and the Higher Education Board to present a fuller paper for early consideration by the Council.