Help A Grouper

[phelana]

I love the The Official Tourism Website of Aruba - Information for Travel, Hotels, and Reservations ads. They show real people who reside in Aruba and post a cute little welcome message. This month they feature a lovely Antillean girl Ashely who is a waitress. She mentions she recommends her guest try the fresh snapper and grouper. Please can folks go on The Official Tourism Website of Aruba - Information for Travel, Hotels, and Reservations and type a message to the tourism corp educating them on the sustainability issues pertaining to Grouper and Snapper? Much appreciation. Power in numbers..gotta protect those Groupers especially who are one known predator to Lionfish.

Peace

Say no to eating Grouper and Snapper in Aruba

 

[Jersey]

Done! iPhone users can get the Monterey Bay Aquarium free app Seafood Watch providing ratings on all kinds of seafood and sushi and reasons to eat, avoid and alternatives. Both Grouper and Snapper are marked AVOID due to overfishing concerns.

 

[Korsu]

Ask the tourism board to promote eating Lionfish.

 

[DiverVince]

Just went there Annie & wasn't able to find it. Is it possible they already pulled it?
I do see them pushing Al Gore as a keynote speaker; as if THAT's going to help them!

 

[lmorin]

The "just say no to grouper" view is not as simple as it sounds. In the August 13 edition of the Bonaire Reporter, there is a letter (accessible here)to the editor devoted to this issue. It is very well written by "A Concerned and Conscientious Bonairean Fisherman" who opened my eyes about another layer of complexity.

He writes that most grouper taken commercially for food, at least in the Bonaire region, are not grouper that frequent reefs. Rather, they are deep water grouper like the misty and snowy that are taken from 600ft. They occupy an altogether different ecological niche than the Nassau, black, tiger, etc.

I accept what the writer had to say as being truthful. And, that has made me think twice about the situation.

 

[Korsu]

Imorin what you say may be true, but here on Curacao, give or take 700 recreational dives, I can't remember the last time I saw a Nassau or Tiger grouper. So fishing has to be playing some role in depleting the larger species.

 

[DiverVince]

Imorin..yes indeed I read that article also. However I also doubt the veracity of the statements & the articles main contention; that's it's OK to consume grouper. If you believe that "deep water grouper" is the only grouper that has been served on the menus, I've got a bridge to sell you!

Please do a little more investigation into this. I've been diving Bonaire's reefs a long time. Guess what, the groupers have been disappearing off her reefs (and I don't go down 600 feet), coincidentally the same way lobsters have!

These species need to be protected and taking them ANYWHERE should be prohibited until their numbers come back to the way they were 25 years ago. Personally I will NEVER order grouper at any restaurant on the island and would certainly like to see others do the same. If you want to order grouper for dinner, I certainly do NOT condone it. If the article makes you feel better when you consume it, well what can I say.

 

[lmorin]

DiverVince, to tell you the truth, I don't particularly like grouper to eat. Has to be about my least favorite fish, so it really is not a hard decision to say I won't eat it anymore. That said, it is no longer a decision made entirely on principle. I like to know the reality of the situation when I make a decision. For me, the reality changed with that article. Now, I'd like to know what proportion of grouper on restaurant menus is deep vs reef grouper. For that matter, I'd also like to know more about how a decline in deep group will alter the deep and shallow ecosystems.

 

[jd950]

I am afraid I don't think the letter is legit. Perhaps a bit too well written for a humble Bonairean fisherman? Even if legit, the author of the letter himself says "most" fishermen are unable to fish those deep waters. That tells me that it is either none or very few of the grouper or snapper for sale on Bonaire, Curacao, etc., is anything other than reef fish. Once prepared and served, it can be hard to tell one species from another. Hogfish, snapper, Nassau grouper, black grouper, snowy grouper...it is hard to differentiate and restaurants and markets aren't always "accurate" in describing their products..

I remain in the "say no to grouper and snapper" camp. I am sure that if we were to all stop eating those fish it would have some negative impact on local fishermen and I regret that, but it is the lesser of two evils. I will eat lionfish though.