A lot of tourists visit Bonaire to dive or snorkel on our reefs. Some of those who’ve been coming here for years and years must have noticed the steep decline of the number of (big) groupers on the reefs. Where have they gone?
Well, a percentage of these fish is gone due to habitat loss. Hurricanes in the region sometimes cause heavy wave-action on our West coast with devastating results. Coastal development, pollution of our coastal waters and stress through water sport activities is also a major pressure on the health of the reefs.
However, quite a lot of these fish actually end up in the stomachs of those who visit the restaurants on Bonaire. And these visitors are usually tourists. The tiger grouper you might have admired while diving in the morning could very well be the same one you are drooling over on your plate at night.
If the tourists themselves do not make the connection with declining grouper sightings during their dive or snorkel trip, then maybe the restaurants should start looking after their long term interests. For every grouper (or octopus, lobster for that matter) that is taken of the reef to be served in a restaurant will have a negative effect on the number of tourists visiting their restaurant in the future. No fish on our reefs means no tourists on Bonaire. No tourists on Bonaire means no business for restaurants.
I’d like to call on every restaurant on Bonaire to stop serving reef fish, for the sake of our reefs and thus for their own sake.
Take reef fish off the menu of restaurants or take tourists of the menu of our economy.
(Source: BNN)
