My Opinion on the Fish Conservation Plan

My Opinion on the Fish Conservation Plan

In my opinion, I believe the draft fish conservation plan has made its point fairly and clear, so the public can understand why such laws are being put in place to protect and conserve Cayman’s marine life.

Although this is a small island, I don’t believe majority of the public are all aware of this plan, being that not often do people go to the DOE building nor to the district libraries. I would suggest posting up a summary of the plan at well-known fishing spots as a reminder to the public of these rules that are put in place. Another great way advertise the plan is to post a notice in the local newspaper.

I am in agreement with the conversation plan, however, I do feel a temporary justification can be made to the restrictions regarding the parrotfish.

It states the crucial importance of the parrotfish as they are algae eaters which help keep the reef clean and healthy. It also states that without them our reefs would be “even more overgrown” which says that our reefs are already overgrown with algae. Another difficulty we are facing from overfishing the parrotfish is that some species, particularly the larger parrotfish aren’t as common as they use to be.

With those factors being said, I understand that the DOE has an idea of the relative abundance of the parrotfish and relative health of the reef, but I feel that there should be a 6 month ban on catching any parrotfish, until our reefs are cleaner & the larger species are back to surface. After those 6 months are up, the original measures can resume in act. I believe this would make a dramatic result in an increased population of the parrotfish and also, cleaner and healthier reefs.

I am also in agreement with the rules regarding the lionfish. Lionfish has an extremely high reproductive rate and can release up to 2 million eggs a year per female.