Help Phase Out Fish Traps in the U.S. Caribbean! Please Act Soon!
Dear Friend of Coral Reef Fish:
Do you realize that one of the biggest threats to reef fish in the U.S. Caribbean, and to the coral reefs that they depend on, is a fishing gear that is legal and common in federal waters off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands? Wire mesh fish traps destroy habitat and kill thousands of juvenile fish and tropicals such as butterflyfish and angelfish.
Now we have the chance to stop this!
The U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council is considering a reduction of fish traps in federal waters off of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now is the time to act! We need you to endorse the attached e-mail petition so we can present a strong case to the Council to reduce fish traps.
The Problems with Fish Traps
The problem with fish traps is the destruction of live bottom habitat caused by the dragging of large grappling hooks to locate and retrieve unbuoyed traps.
The problem with fish traps is the killing of juvenile snappers and groupers that can't escape through the small trap mesh.
The problem with fish traps is the wasteful killing of tropical reef fish that can comprise up to 54% of the fish caught in a trap.
The problem with fish traps is the difficulty in enforcing the existing regulations, since traps can easily be hidden.
The problem with fish traps is the "ghost fishing" that occurs when traps that are not constructed with biodegradable panels are lost.
The problem with fish traps is the continued depletion of Caribbean fisheries. Fish traps catch an average of less than 5 pounds per trap, with each fish weighing an average of just over 1/2 pound.
The Next Step
ReefKeeper International has presented the Council with a formal request to phase out this destructive fishing gear. The Council will be evaluating this issue during the next few months. However, if the Council does not hear widespread support for a reduction in fish traps, they may decide to do nothing. That's why we need concerned friends of the reefs like you to stand up and be counted.
The Caribbean Council needs to see support to phase out fish traps. The Council is debating fish traps now -- so now is the time for you to endorse the e-mail petition for an equitable phase-out of fish traps in the U.S. Caribbean.
Your involvement now will help preserve our reef fish populations for the future.
Thanks for helping!
ALEXANDER STONE Director
P.S. Here is what a few people say about fish traps
"There is evidence that fish trapping causes habitat damage where fish traps are set in trawl on live bottom... where grappling hooks are dragged across live bottom communities... and where trenches are caused by grappling hooks dragged over the bottom for the purpose of locating and recovering traps. " (South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, April 1991 Pages 59 - 82 Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper/Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic).
"The juveniles not going to market are tossed overboard. They bloat up from the rapid pressure change during the haul and never survive. You should see some of the fish slicks that are created out there. They also play hell on coral reefs. We have no idea how a series of traps will set on the reef below. The rope connecting several traps often wedges between coral. We hit reefs when we drag out grapnels to snag our lines, sometimes bringing up some large chunks. The ropes and traps also tear up the reefs when we haul up" (Anonymous, Cages of Death. Saltwater Sportsman. June 1990, P.108).
"One large jack "beat" itself to death against the mesh... several fish were observed to actually gill themselves in the mesh of the trap in an attempt to escape. They hung there after dying for two days before being eaten. Our results suggest that the management of fish trap fisheries by simple mesh regulations will not lead to the optimum utilization of multi-species fishery resources" (Luckhurst and Ward, Behavioral Dynamics of Coral Reef Fishes in Antillian Fish Traps at Bermuda, Dept. of Fisheries, Bermuda 1983).
"The CFMC [Caribbean Fishery Management Council] has a minimum mesh size requirement for traps to be deployed in Federal Waters. This minimum mesh size still allows for juveniles and adults of certain species (e.g., [vermilion snapper] and wide-bodied fish such as the butterfly fish) to remain in the traps." (CFMC, 1998, pg. 12, Comprehensive Amendment Addressing the Provisions of the Magnuson-Steven Act).
"The greatest concern in the U.S. Virgin Islands, based on fisherman interviews and statistics, is the decline of local reef fish stocks. This has had a huge impact on the primary fishery - the Trap fishery. The result has been a large increase in the number of traps set." (James P. Beets, Proceedings of the Conference on Fisheries in Crisis, Sept. 24-25, 1987).
To: "Miguel Rolon, Caribbean Fish Mgmt Council" <[email protected]> cc: "Joe Kimmel, Natl Marine Fisheries Svc" <j[email protected]> "Fish Trap Campaign" <r[email protected]>
PETITION FOR THE PHASE OUT OF FISH TRAPS IN THE U.S. CARIBBEAN
Dear Mr. Rolon and Mr. Kimmel:
I respectfully request that the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council take timely action to phase out the use of wire mesh fish traps in federal waters of the U.S. Caribbean. An equitable reduction of this fishing gear is needed because:
The State of Florida and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council have already banned the use of fish traps within their jurisdictions. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, also recognizing the problems with this fishing gear, has implemented a phase-out program that will prohibit the use of fish traps in waters under its jurisdiction.
Therefore, I respectfully request that the U.S. Caribbean Fishery Management Council begin action to phase out wire mesh fish traps in federal waters of the U.S. Caribbean.