Commercial fishing for yellowfin tunas in the Bahamas:

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Written by Chase Cornell Friday, 19 February 2010 09:39

It is around this time in February each year that I can’t wait for spring to arrive.  One month from now the waiting game begins.  The fraternity of fishermen that I choose to spend time on the water with wait patiently for the arrival of March.  As spring arrives and cool currents butt against the warm embrace of the Gulf Stream, yellowfin tuna arrive on the Bahama Bank.  For anglers in South East Florida, it is the time of the year to test tackle and teamwork against one of the ocean’s most prolific and sought after species.  However, this week I found out some shocking and disturbing news.  There is a commercial, pelagic netting operation being outfitted in Freeport for the mass harvesting of yellowfin tuna.

The operation is being spearheaded by brothers Paul and David Mellor, two Grand Bahama business men. According to Eric J. Russell, the editor, co-owner and webmaster of BahamaIslandsInfo.com, Grand Bahama Info and Nassau Info newsletters, “The Mellors are not without a questionable past. In 2002, they were arrested in a $26 million drug bust in South Florida that netted over 300 kilos of cocaine. The brothers were offered a plea deal as cooperating witnesses but their explanations were later called "weak" and "worthless" due to inconsistencies in their facts.”

Now back in the Bahamas, the brothers plan to obtain a purse seiner to capture entire schools of yellowfin tuna.  This type of net can produce hauls upwards of 40,000 pounds.  Perhaps the most sobering aspect of this type of fishing is that the net will entrap, entangle and disorient every other organism occupying the water with the tuna.  This means sea turtles, whales, sharks, and all other species of pelagic fish will be imperiled.

Historically speaking, mass exploitation methods have wiped out fish populations and pushed some to the brink of extinction.  We see the such evidence through the decimation of swordfish stocks by commercial longline operations. A mile-long net achieves similar results of a thirty-mile long fishing line; a complete and thorough rape of the environment.

Yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). At the present time ICCAT does not have country-based quota systems in place for yellowfin tuna.  In an official release by The Bahamas National Trust it is stated that, “Some fisheries experts believe that with the Atlantic harvest of tuna near maximum sustainable yields that the warm waters of The Bahamas and the Caribbean may be the last stronghold of this important fishery species. Some scientists also believe that the southern end of the tongue of the ocean may be the breeding site for some Atlantic tuna stocks and should be considered as a marine no-take reserve.”  Commercial fishing of yellowfin tuna in the Bahamas would have a dramatic and devastating impact on the entire population of Atlantic yellowfin tuna.

With the spring fishing season just around the corner, the thought of such an operation is a nightmare.  The one assurance we have about such a commercial operation in the Bahamas is that the netters will not rest until the entire population of tuna has been eradicated.  For those of us who are lucky enough to venture to the azure waters of the Bahamas, the future of our precious resource is more uncertain than ever.

The following are links to the information provided in this article, as well as further information with regard to the proposed commercial tuna fishing operation in the Bahamas:

http://www.bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4849

http://killlionfish.com/BNT%20Press%20Release%20Tuna%20Fishery%20Concerns.html

http://bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4891

http://bahamaislandsinfo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4891:commercial-fishing-venture-a-net-loss-for-the-bahamas&catid=37:Editorial%20comments%20from%20our%20Editor's%20point%20of%20view&Itemid=175

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Comments  

 

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0 #1 suziQwong 2010-03-18 05:45

Thanks, Chase...
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