Fishermen meets Environmental Protection
The Department of Environmental Protection met with local fisherman recently to discuss how recreational fishing is affecting the marine ecosystem.
Department members on Wednesday organised a presentation at the Blue Waters Anglers Club entitled Managing Recreational Fishing.
Senior Marine Resource Officer Dr Tammy Trott said that fishing practices have changed over the last 20 years due in part to an increase in foreign workers.
“Guest workers from other cultures frequently have different attitudes towards the use of natural resources, yet there is no provision for this in the current regulations or in the existing outreach programsmes,” Dr Trott said.“Some of these people are fishing from shore and taking undersized and juvenile fish and targeting species that are not traditionally taken by local.
“These activities could cause significant declines in our fish populations and this was one of the primary concerns among the local fishing population I addressed.”
She said that a detailed evaluation of all recreational fishing is needed to ensure proper management and to highlight any weaknesses found in the existing Fishery Regulations.
Minister of the Environment, Planning and Infrastructure Walter Roban praised the efforts made to communicate with the local fishing community.
“By reaching out to local fishermen we can foster healthy discussion on how to further protect our precious fish stock for future generations.”Read More ...
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