Fishermen respond to 20 scientists supporting BOPP
The Fishermen’s Association of Bermuda has responded to a letter from 20 local scientists who voiced support for a national ocean conservation plan.
FAB, representing a portion of the island’s fishermen in a letter to the editor, has reiterated its opposition to the commitment for 20 per cent full protection, including closure to fishing, set out in a 2019 memorandum of understanding between the Government, the Waitt Foundation and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.
While the group said it was “appreciative” of recent calls to action from scientists, as well as about 70 local organisations, it urged immediate action from the Government on “recreational licensing, data collection, improved enforcement and education outreach”.
The scientists, including Mark Guishard, chief operating officer at Bios, and Thad Murdoch, an independent scientist, said they fully supported the Marine Spatial Plan and proposed Marine Protected Areas under the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme.
They said that decades of international research showed that marine protection was one of the most effective measures for addressing pressures such as depleted stocks, habitat loss and coastal development.
However, FAB said in its letter that the “No 1 factor in successful MPAs is buy-in from the local fishing industry”.
The group criticised previous adaptive management measures implemented by the Government including closures to net fishing, as ineffective, adding: “The Government’s track record of adaptive management is abysmal”.
It questioned the need for offshore closures, saying that local fishing in such areas was already minimal and that closure would limit potential “small-scale, locally based fishing”.
FAB wrote: “It’s really nice that BOPP tried to choose areas on the platform where they believe there’s minimal fishing in order to appease us. However, if there’s minimal fishing there, the removal of that fishing impact means that any improvement will also be minimal.”
It said it opposed MPAs that would outlaw fishing activity during the winter months in an industry where “every dollar counts”.
The group said that the Government, Waitt and BOPP would “pat themselves on the back” if BOPP, including the 20 per cent protection, got approved — while action on management measures such as recreational licensing, data collection and stock analysis would remain “woefully inadequate”.
Finally, FAB said fishermen would lose faith, drop their licences, “fish anyway and sell on the open market with no repercussions”.
In their letter, the scientists had stated: “We have full confidence in the scientific evidence and design principles that were used throughout the process.”
The Government and the scientists who cosigned the letter of support for BOPP have been approached for comment.
The Bermuda National Trust has urged David Burt to prioritise the implementation of a Marine Spatial Plan before he steps down as Premier.
Myles Darrell, the trust’s head of natural heritage, said in a letter to the Premier on behalf of the charity that Mr Burt had an opportunity to “leave a lasting legacy for Bermuda” in marine protection.
He was referring to the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme and supporting legislation that was paused by Jaché Adams, the Minister of Public Works and Environment, after the last General Election.
Mr Darrell also sent an open letter from 70 organisations that support BOPP which was sent to Mr Adams this month.
Since that letter was delivered to Mr Adams, about 20 local scientists also came out in support of BOPP and the science behind it.
Mr Darrell said he had met Mr Adams recently.
However, given the “significance of the decisions now before the Government”, he felt it important to write directly to the Premier, who is expected to step down in October.
Mr Darrell wrote: “My concern is not with the plan itself but with timing.
“With your announced intention to step down later this year, the window for advancing this work is becoming increasingly narrow.
“Only with urgent prioritisation can your government complete this piece of work that has been years in the making and will leave a lasting legacy for Bermuda.”
• See the full letter in today’s edition of The Royal Gazette and in Related Media
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