By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

AGRICULTURE and Marine Resources Minister Michael Pintard said a national survey is being conducted among stakeholders about a closed conch season which would protect stocks.

Speaking to reporters yesterday at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Pintard said: "We have been very clear in the ministry in terms of the measures that we were pushing, and I can outline those, but I should also say that a survey is being conducted nationally to get the views of all stakeholders. We will make decisions at the end of having canvassed all stakeholders.

"The principle position we have been pushing is one that we want fishers to give serious consideration to the possibility that we will ask them to land conch in the shell since lip thickness is the best way to determine the maturity of the conch. We heard a lot about persons having small conchs. The assumption is for every small conch you see somebody is engaged in something illegal."

He added: "When there are some species of conch that are fully matured but maybe somewhat small, landing in the shell does have some logistical issues that we are seeking to work through, but it is one of the things that we are pushing. The second thing is we are reducing the quota of exports and the goal is to eliminate the export of conch from our standpoint unless someone has the science to dissuade the government from that position."

The minister said next season there will be a substantial reduction of the quota for every company assigned in the Bahamas.

He said: "There are some on one hand who feel that we're not moving fast enough, that we should do it suddenly."

Mr Pintard said businesses should be looking at species other than conch and to the local market rather than exports.

Enforcement, he added, would be boosted by the recruitment of 37 new fisheries officers through which "the government can do its part in protecting conch stock and marine protected area".

"We are stepping up the education, the ongoing communication with fishers about safe sustainable fishing practices as well," he said. Tourists, he added, would also face new restrictions and will "definitely catch less".

"We won't give the specifics, but we believe conch should not be harvested by visitors in The Bahamas and so that is one of the measures we intend to include. Also, to reduce the amount and pounds they are able to capture on sports vessels as well as pleasure crafts."

Edison Deleveaux, marine resources acting director, said Florida recently put a restriction concerning produce caught in Bahamian waters being taken back to the States.

He said: "What used to happen in the past is that persons would have caught resources here and taken those resources back to the States but now the Florida State Fisheries and Wildlife commission has banned that so right now it's illegal for them to take product from us back to their jurisdiction."

Mr Pintard added that in October a "proposed" schedule of penalties will be presented in the House of Assembly and should be passed by the end of this year.

"I say proposed only because other than the fisheries advisory group - which has done a great deal of consultation - there are other Bahamians who have a notion of what penalties should be in and what the new fisheries act should look like so we want to give the public the opportunity to review it."

A petition on a closed conch season was created by Malcolm Adams and has so far gathered more than 8,000 signatures.