Fishermen still not ‘swimming’
with Marine Park Ordinance
PHILIPSBURG--Fishermen are worried that the proposed Marine Park Ordinance will limit their fishing grounds and will force the island’s last remaining local commercial catchers to go belly-up.
Sharing their thoughts during a consultative session on the draft ordinance Monday evening, local commercial and sport fishermen pointed out that the plan to limit fishing between Oyster Pond and Pointe Blanche to four designated areas that will change every few years would pose a serious problem. This area is earmarked for a conservation zone in which all activities will be regulated and monitored.
To fish in this area, existing local commercial fishermen will receive permits with the coordinates of the four fishing zones. Sport fishermen can fish in the conservation zone, but with no more than four fishing lines.
Fishing is allowed in the Western part of the proposed marine park except for areas marked as shipping lanes. However, even in this section fishermen will have to moor on buoys installed by Nature Foundation St. Maarten. The contention with the mooring is that if more fishermen decide to fish one day than there are buoys, a solution will have to be readily available.
One fisherman suggested the fees to be collected from diver operators for use of the park be used also to help the fishermen replace their fish pots that are oftentimes damaged by divers. The fees of US $5 per scuba diver and $1 per snorkeller will be paid by the dive operators once the ordinance is vetted by the Central Committee and ratified by the Island Council. The funds will be used for the management and conservation of the marine park.
The concerns and suggestions of the fishermen will be taken into consideration as the draft ordinance is fine-tuned by the Department of Physical Planning and Environment VROM.
Sharing information with the fishermen in Dr. A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall were VROM Head Delano Richardson, VROM representative Olivia Lake, Marine Park Manager Beverly Nisbeth and attorney Bert Hofman, who works on the legal aspects of the ordinance.
