A recent peer-reviewed scientific study has sounded the alarm over widespread overfishing of key commercial marine species across The Bahamas’ waters, but Bahamian officials say they will hold off on crafting regulatory changes until they can complete an independent domestic fisheries assessment. The study, published this week by the Perry Institute for Marine Science (PIMS), analyzed 72 years of historical catch data stretching from 1950 to 2022, and found that 11 out of the 12 commercially valuable species included in the assessment were suffering from varying degrees of overexploitation.
Among the most at-risk populations, the study labeled Nassau grouper and yellowfin grouper as “grossly overfished”. Research data showed yellowfin grouper populations currently hold just 40 percent of the total biomass required to maintain a sustainable long-term harvest, while Nassau grouper populations sit at only 49 percent of that sustainable threshold. Other species flagged as overfished include queen conch, Caribbean spiny lobster, and black grouper, all of which the study identifies as the “backbone” of The Bahamas’ domestic seafood market. The report warns that ongoing population declines of these iconic species pose a direct threat to national food security and the stability of local seafood supply chains.
Speaking to reporters at a community farming event this week, Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister Jomo Campbell confirmed that ministry staff have reviewed the PIMS findings, but stopped short of endorsing the study’s conclusions. “That was one report,” Campbell told journalists, when asked whether there was risk that future generations of Bahamians could lose access to these culturally and economically important traditional seafood species. “What we first have to establish based on our findings is in fact whether there is overfishing and in what sectors.”
Campbell explained that the Bahamian Department of Marine Resources, led by Acting Director Dr. Gittens, is already in the process of conducting its own independent fisheries survey. Once the domestic assessment is complete, ministry officials will compare the two datasets, gather input from stakeholders across the Bahamian fishing industry, and then develop a formal evidence-based action plan to address any identified issues. Campbell added that the government expects to release its response to the overfishing concerns “in short order” after the internal survey is finalized.
PIMS officials noted they have prepared to share their full dataset and findings with the Department of Marine Resources and national fisheries management working groups, as the government undertakes a broader review of revisions to the country’s national fisheries regulations. In a separate update on the Golden Yolk agricultural development initiative, Campbell confirmed that a second media tour of the project is scheduled to take place within the coming weeks.