Georgetown, Grand Cayman - A groundswell of public support generated by Guy Harvey’s latest film
The Mystery of the Grouper Moon
has prompted the Marine Conservation Board of the Cayman Islands to
extend a ban on fishing the Nassau grouper spawning aggregation site
near Little Cayman.
The Board, this week, voted to extend
the current moratorium another eight years after reviewing extensive
research conducted by REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation)
and Oregon State University and a public education campaign supported
by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) and the Cayman Islands Department
of Environment (DOE). The existing ban, in place since 2003, was due
to expire at the end of the year. The penalty for catching Nassau grouper
in a spawning aggregation site between November and March is up to one
year in prison or up to $500,000 in fines.
“The Cayman Islands are celebrating
the 25 anniversary since the formation of the first marine park here,
so it is fitting that such a strong conservation effort has been made
by the MCB and that common sense has prevailed,” said Dr. Harvey.
In filming the research work being
conducted by REEF, Guy Harvey and award-winning filmmaker George Schellenger
created a compelling and informative 45-minute documentary—
The
Mystery of the Grouper Moon. The film’s purpose was to document
the research and make the results available in layman’s language to
the residents of the Cayman Islands. The documentary (for a preview
go to
http://www.guyharvey.com/home.
php?id=5
) was shot entirely in the Cayman Islands and
was supported by REEF and the DOE. The GHOF also supported the education
campaign with custom artwork.
More work, however, needs to be done,
according to Dr. Harvey, an internationally celebrated marine artist
and a professor of marine biology, who makes his home in the Cayman
Islands.
“We are all very glad that the Marine
Conservation Board has acted positively on the research conducted by
REEF and the DOE, as the science clearly shows the recovery of Nassau
groupers has not been as successful as expected,” said Dr. Harvey.
“This is because fishing for this species still continues during the
spawning season, but outside of the protected spawning aggregation sites.”
The Nassau grouper population, according
to Dr. Harvey, has maintained equilibrium and has not grown appreciably.
Harvey says the next step is for the Ministry of the Environment to
legislate protection of Nassau grouper throughout its range during spawning
season, between November 1 and March 31.
“This would be similar to the protection
enjoyed by conch and lobster populations which remain healthy in the
Cayman Islands, but are fished for only during short seasons each year,”
he said. “Also the minimum catch size of the Nassau grouper needs
to be extended from 12 inches to 24 inches. It is good fishery
management to let fish reproduce before they are harvested. A
12 inch fish is immature.”
An added advantage to keeping groupers
at a healthy population is that they can serve as a natural culling
force on the invasive, non-native lionfish, which are annihilating several
species of juvenile reef fish throughout the Caribbean.
“Local fishermen need to realize
that these conservation measures will benefit all user groups in the
years to come,” Dr. Harvey concluded. “Once the Nassau grouper
population recovers it can then be managed and fished within the restrictions
of new catch limits, but the spawning brood stock must be protected
forever.”
For more information on the Nassau
grouper, please go to
www.reef.org/programs/grouper_
moon
About the Guy Harvey
Ocean Foundation
www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.
org
The Guy Harvey Ocean
Foundation funds inspired scientific research and innovative educational
programs to encourage conservation and best management practices for
sustainable marine environments. The GHOF will help ensure that future
generations will enjoy and benefit from a naturally balanced ocean ecosystem
where fish and other marine wildlife flourish.