Pollutants killing the marine park

Pollutants from the North and South Gully in Montego Bay are playing a major role in the depleted fish population within the Montego Bay Marine Park according to operations manager Javed Miller.

“As it stands the North and South Gully empties into the marine park and we are working with the St. James Parish Council and the National Solid Waste Management Authority to get engineers design a system where the debris is trapped before it enters into the marine park” Miller argued.

In addition to pollutants from the city’s two main gullies, the land-based debris such as soil and the continuous practice of over fishing by fisher folks have also influenced the low levels of fishes within the marine park area.

However, in an effort to combat this growing problem he explained that a fish sanctuary stretching from the Aqua Sol Beach Park to Tropical Beach located along the Ironshore shoreline. This project is in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department. The fish sanctuary will give the fishes an opportunity to mature and breed after which, they will leave the sanctuary, “this will ensure that the fishes that the fishermen catch are mature and are suitable and not juvenile fish that are sometimes caught with the mature ones” Miller concluded.

While he was unable to provide an estimate for the number of fishes within the marine park area, he is confident that the programme will bear fruit and restore that which has been eroded.At least one entity has pledged their assistance to this initiative of preserving and replenishing the stock of fishes with the park.

The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has committed $8.3 million to assist the efforts of the Montego Bay Marine Park in restoring the fish population. Some $4 million has already been disbursed for the first phase which is aimed at educating the public about the importance of preserving the environment and providing alternative means of income for fishermen who fish in the marine park.