BONEFISH PRESERVATION

January 1999 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

BONEFISH PRESERVATION

A meeting of bonefishing guides and interested parties was held at Below Decks, Abaco Beach Hotel, on 25th November, under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, to discuss preservation of the bonefish industry.

Sammy Gardiner, Special Projects Manager of the Ministry of Tourism, gave the two dozen people in attendance an informal run-down on the efforts by his Ministry to encourage the bonefishing industry in The Bahamas and preserve all aspects of good resource management. This included the establishment two years ago of island and national tournaments and a World Invitational Tournament which featured the Bahamian champion.

In order to create industry data the governments of The Bahamas and Mexico have established a joint project, and present at the meeting were Ijnacio Fernandez and Alonso Ajuilar. Their aims, according to Mr Fernandez, were to collect information about record weight and length catches, numbers of fish caught, catch and release survival rate, alterations in bonefish habitats, and to investigate the life history of the bonefish. "Bonefish are very fragile creatures," Mr Fernandez said. "We need to protect nursery areas and determine whether they are vulnerable or not. We look to bonefishing guides as the key factor in our data collection, which will lead to better management of the resource."

The Abaco bonefishing guides present were very open and helpful in the cause. Concern was expressed about methods of weighing, measuring and releasing bonefish and the merits of the Boga Grip were discussed. The removal of slime from a fish by too much handling left it prey to sharks by allowing the shark to detect the bonefish scent. The use of stainless steel hooks was not approved of by the majority of the guides and they also said that suntan lotion or block on a fisherman's hands also harmed the bonefish. Some fish had been caught with the stained handprints of a previous fisherman clearly observable. Whether the barb of a hook should be 'mashed' or not brought divided opinion, but all had observed surface activity and feeding by bonefish in several fathoms of water outside of the accepted October/November spawning season. All the guides had also seen nursery schools of bonefish consisting almost entirely of juveniles.

The greatest immediate concern of the professionals was the invasion of US mother boats which then, employing US guides, used flat bottom boats to bonefish in Bahamian waters. Whether this was illegal or not was uncertain, but Mr Gardiner promised to look into the matter.

It was agreed that the fishing permits presently available to visitors should apply only to deep water fishing and that shallow water fishing should be restricted to using a qualified and registered Bahamian guide.

The Mexican consultants were very impressed by the knowledgeable insights and concerns of the Abaconians involved in the bonefishing industry. They expressed their gratitude to those present and promised diligent research into our fragile living resource. It was obvious, Mr Gardiner added, that Abaco bonefishing guides were very responsible and professional in their conduct in this important industry.

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