IF BARBADOS is to hold its head high in international environmental circles as a small island with a sustainable development programme for its marine environment, it must broaden the current concept for marine development to include the utilisation of various kinds of artificial reefs to attract and hold fish species of value to man.
It is not enough to say that Barbados has natural reefs, and to be content with these as nurseries and primary suppliers of the on-shore types of fish traditionally exploited by local fishermen.
Today we know that these reefs, in many parts
of the island are now dead or dying from island run-off pollution and cannot be
relied on to supply an adequate number of juveniles for eventual recruitment
into the fish market statistics.
South coast a disaster
This is particularly true of the human ravaged South Coast which, in Amerindian
times, had numerous shallow, on-shore reefs that provided fish, shell-fish and
lobsters to Barbados's first human residents.
Today these reefs are virtually dead and incapable of regeneration in our lifetimes, or those of our children, even if we are able to control and eliminate most of the sources of pollution that contribute to their long term decline. For human habitation in the modern day sense, as contrasted with the era of the environment friendly Amerindians, is virtually incompatable with shallow reef coral survival.
Thus we must devise alternative "solutions", like man-made substitute reefs which, in effect, serve to provide habitat for both breeding adults and juveniles in the realm of fish and shell-fish.
Thus we turn to an "accidental" reef, like the new one created by Coastal Conversation at Accra; to protect the sand on the beach from wave erosion while, inadvertently providing a splendid habitat and nursery area for the identical types of shallow water "reef" fishes that once flourished over the same bottom in the days of living reefs.
And ironically enough, and "artificial
reef" made of natural coral stone quarried from the sites of ancient reefs
in the pre-historic past of Barbados.
More such reefs required.
Having personally snorkelled over and around the new Accra Beach mini-barrier
reef many times, I have witnessed the recruitment success in this brand new
structure's ability to lure and provide a home for masses of juvenile reef fish,
and the occasional adult able to avoid the selective threat of spear-fishermen,
intent on bagging a few fish for the pot.
A practice, incidentally, which must be eliminated on these close-in reefs if they are to serve their eventual primary goal of attracting fish of all sizes for viewing by snorkellers and under-water photographers.
A function of great importance to the future of Barbados' tourism and a delicate issue where we must keep our priorities straight. For tourism is now our number one and possibly only economic lifeline for the future.