Seaweed cuts catch

Article by Heather-Lynn Evanson

THE LAST SARGASSUM SEAWEED INFLUX has been blamed for more than halving fish catches in 2015.

However, said head of the body representing fisherfolk in Barbados, this year’s invasion comes at the end of the fishing season and fishermen are hoping it will be gone by the time the season starts in November.

Vernel Nicholls, president of the Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organisations (BARNUFO), was speaking to the DAILY NATION after Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer Joyce Leslie revealed that fish catches in 2012 and 2015 – the years of a massive influx of seaweed – were well below the average annual fish catches landed in Barbados.

Nicholls said that while the seaweed was back, she was not certain if it was in sufficient quantities to be a cause for concern. (HLE)

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