Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Grouper population is in clear decline

A grouper and a scuba diver (Photograph supplied)

Dear Sir,

I read with great interest your front-page coverage today of threatened legal action by the Fishermen’s Association of Bermuda against the Government, demanding a halt to plans to set up Marine Protection Areas around Bermuda.

One fisherman asked: “How can we overfish this island with hand lines and a rod and reel?”

Another said that rockfish, popular for eating, were not being depleted: “That area is still as strong as it was [many years ago].”

I beg to differ. I am a recreational scuba diver and have dived Bermuda’s reefs since 1987. In my log books from my first years of diving, the sighting of a grouper would be noted with many exclamation marks — it was not a frequent occurrence. But from the introduction of the pot-fishing ban in 1988, grouper numbers on the inshore reefs began a remarkable recovery, so that by the early 2000s, my dive buddy and I would routinely see 20-25 groupers at The Arch off Elbow Beach, one of our favourite locations (and obviously theirs too).

I’m not sure if the opening-up of accurate GPS by the US Government in 2000 had anything to do with it, but in the past 15 years or so grouper numbers have again precipitously declined so that it has been years since I have seen even two groupers together anywhere, and it has been two years since I have seen any groupers at all at The Arch.

Maybe fishermen have nothing to do with that decline, but I and many of my friends and acquaintances — including some fishermen — think they do. The creation of effective fully protected MPAs, hopefully in agreement with and supported by the FAB, is vital to the future of Bermuda’s fisheries.

RORY GORMAN

Hamilton Parish

You must be Registered or to post comment or to vote.

Published November 29, 2022 at 7:57 am (Updated November 29, 2022 at 7:56 am)

Grouper population is in clear decline

What you
Need to
Know
1. For a smooth experience with our commenting system we recommend that you use Internet Explorer 10 or higher, Firefox or Chrome Browsers. Additionally please clear both your browser's cache and cookies - How do I clear my cache and cookies?
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
7. To report breaches of the Terms of Service use the flag icon