Up Front
Ban on 'Z' Trap Fish Pots
Mrs. Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Director of the Department ofEnvironment (left), and Mr. Ladner Watler, Chief Marine EnforcementOfficer (right)
Minister of Environment, the Hon. McKeevaBush, may table at March's sitting of the Legislative Assembly,legislation prohibiting the use of the Antillian fish pot, or'Z' trap as the predominantly mesh contraption is commonly knownboth here and in other parts of the Caribbean where it orginiated.Theproposed prohibition, in effect an ammendment to the Marine ConservationLaw and Regulations, is intended on the one hand to curb the over-fishingof edible and ornamental reef fish, and to prevent the subsequentdepletion of both species should present fishing trends continue.
Among factors militating against the device -- which has beenaround for some time now with the advent of new cultures to Cayman,it is said -- is its unwieldy size, some three times that of thetraditional Caymanian fish pot.
Because of its size and the fact that it has two, rather thanone, funnels through which fish enter, the 'Z' trap is able tofish much larger quantities of fish, including those not traditionallyeaten by Caymanians, like the French Angel and Butterfly fish,but which, of late, have been finding themselves in the marketplacesand in the pots of many a household here on Grand Cayman.
"What has been happening lately," said Chief MarineEnforcement Officer, Mr. Ladner Watler, "is that everythingthat comes out of that trap is being sold on the markets... andis being eaten."
"...it looks like a fish; smells like a fish...so peopleeat them," he said.
Additionally, it is said, should these pots become dislodged andgo adrift during bad weather, they keep on fishing. And, becausethey are left unattended for days, sometimes weeks, on end, thefishes trapped therein eventually suffocate and die, and in putrefying,act as bait for yet others.
The reason this happens, Mr. Watler explained, is because duringthe course of their confinement, it never occurs to the fishesto look up. "It always seems to work for some unexplainedreason," he said.
According to Director of Environment, Mrs. Gina Ebanks-Petrie,only the use of the traditional Caymanian fish pots will be allowed,and even then, those using them will have to be licensed.
Obviously, she said, there will be conditions attached to thatlicence, such as the size of the mesh that can be used, and theactual size of the pot.
Persons will also be required to fasten trap doors made of corrosiblematerial into the side of the fish pots, so that fish caught inthem may be able to escape in the event of the device becomingdislodged and going adrift during bad weather.
Plans are also in train, Mrs. Ebanks-Petrie said, to set a limitto the number of pots that can be used per licenced fisherman,and such other conditions as tagging each licenced pot so that,from an enforcement perspective, the Department may know immediatelywhere to take appropriate action.
Mrs. Ebanks-Petrie said that while everything Mr Watler said pertainingto the new eating habits was true, she feels that from a conservationperspective, that it's not so useful to single out cultures.
"The fact remains that many different cultures have cometo Cayman to live, and our country has changed rapidly,"she said.
Noting that some of the problems Cayman is facing today, in termsof managing its environmental resources in a sustainable way,were not envisaged back in 1986 when the Marina Conservation (MarineParks) legislation were established, Mrs. Ebanks-Petrie said:"...really what we're faced with is having to look at newtrends and reviewing those legislations.
She made the point that from an economic perspective, preservingthe fish in its natural state is worth more to the country thanits being in somebody's pot.
"There's just no comparison," she stressed.
"Diving tourism," she noted, "is a big part ofour economy. Divers and snorkellers want to see fish... and they'renot going to be terribly impressed if they come here and there'snothing."
Thankful that matters have not reached "crisis situation"here in the Cayman Islands, she said this was why something needsto be done, and quickly, "because things can deterioriatein a jiffy."
"If we don't take some sort of action now, particularly withthese fish pots, because they are non-selective, something maywell happen, and then it just might be too late," she said.