REEFS UNDER THREAT

Ninety-nine per cent of the coral reefs in Barbados are being overfished and this is leading to their destruction.

This is according to a representative of the Barbados Dive Operators Association (BDOA), Andre Miller, who spoke to the press at the 2018 launch of the Barbados Dive Fest recently at the Sugar Bay Resort.

Answering a question from the media regarding the issues most affecting the quality of our sea water, he said that there are three major concerns.

“We have three major negative impacts. We have overfishing…we have water quality related issues. You can’t ignore the big elephant in the room, sewage is a big problem right now on the South Coast of Barbados. But even before this issue, we still had the issue of polluted ground and surface water entering into the zone; and then we have our third set of issues which is global climate change. Of those three, there is one that we can work on, especially with divers in this room – I am not saying that the others are not important – but if there is anything that we can do in this room it is to pick the low lying fruit. If we prevent overfishing on these reefs, we make the reefs obviously a lot healthier, a lot more resilient, as the marine biologists would say.

“A resilient reef is a reef that can better handle a hurricane, sea surface temperatures, the outputs of sewage, all of these things reefs can handle if it is healthy to a point. But we have a reef that is overfished as it is – 99 per cent. I want that number to sink in; 99 per cent of our coral reefs right now today…Overfishing kills. 99 per cent of reefs – apart from a little slip in Folkstone and a little slip in Carlisle Bay – is overfished.”

Miller also stated that other Eastern Caribbean islands are seeing this and taking the required action, and it is time that Barbados wakes up and follows suit .

“We have to spend millions of dollars to build boardwalks, to build breakwaters…If we protect our reefs, we are saving hundreds of millions of dollars in coastal construction fees. We import snapper…I am so embarrassed.

"So Barbados it is time for us to get serious. Let’s close of some of our reefs. The fisherman are going to be happy, divers are going to be happy…the hoteliers are going to be happy. We all want the same thing – healthy beaches. Healthy beaches need healthy reefs and healthy reefs need healthy fish. Simple!” (PJT)