As of December 1, 2019 a total ban will be placed on parrot fish harvesting and any attempt to pursue shark fin fishing will also be illegal in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The parrot fish eats algae and dead coral and spends up to 90% of its’ day nibbling. The excretion of a single parrot fish can produce up to 700 lbs of sand each year.
Hon. Saboto Caesar, the island’s Minister of Fisheries, commended stakeholders for their support and encouragement in protecting the parrot fish.
“This year we celebrate, as leaders in conservation globally, our achievements in protecting turtles, preventing the illegal trade of the Union Island Gecko, and soon a ban on harvesting of the parrot fish and on shark fin fishing. This week we witnessed the repatriation of three of our national birds. This is an indication of successful work with the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrorts (ACTP). St. Vincent is truly Mother Nature’s Paradise,” stated Minister Caesar.
Even though shark fin fishing is not practiced in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the country will place a legal framework to outlaw this method of fishing in support of the global conservation efforts promoted by the United Nations.
Shark fin fishing is the custom in some countries where thousands of sharks are caught, the fins are removed and the balance of the shark’s body is thrown back to sea. This threatens the global shark population and it is seen as an unsustainable use of an important marine resource.
With more parrot fish alive, many will have no justification in wanting to take sand to the beach anywhere in SVG in the near futur
