By John Denny
Observer Nevis Reporter
(Nevis) – Tourism is the lifeblood of the Federation. Diving and fishing tourism depends on healthy reefs and local business owners want to take steps to protect them from damage that is happening today.
Mr. Ellis Chaderton is a dive operator and owner of Scuba Safaris at Oualie Beach. He believes if measures are not taken to protect the reefs it will be regrettable for the whole country.
“I’m not saying there are no good places left to dive around here,” Mr. Chaderton said. “There are plenty, but in my lifetime I see the damage done by people not respecting the reefs.”
Mr. Chaderton said one of the problems is the increased popularity of spear fishing.
The coral needs the smaller fish to keep it clean, but so many people are indiscriminate of the size of fish. The reefs are the nurseries of the ocean, he said.
“We don’t allow any spear fishing just no taking (of anything),” Mr. Chaderton said. “If we take divers to a site and there are lots of lobster and fish and they take nothing, then you know you can take people to see plenty of marine life the following day.
“Many people grow up in the islands and see the sea as being endless and that you can throw trash in it and it just goes away or that there will always be fish in it,” he said. “I grew up here and I was guilty of this idea myself, but once you go down and see a reef, just white, like a desert, you realize these need to be protected.”
According to Mr. Chaderton, diving and fishing brings the tourist who spends a little more money than the average.
“This affects so many businesses on the island,” he said. “They buy hotel rooms. They go out to eat. They buy souvenirs, but when the reefs are gone they will go somewhere else to spend their money.”
The Nevis Port authority has taken measures to protect the sea grass beds by placing moorings and thereby reducing the numbers of anchors dropped there. It is a start, said Mr. Chaderton, but sea grass can replenish very quickly compared to coral.
Placing moorings on the reefs could protect them from the anchors, but it might also promote fishing on the reefs defeating the purpose.
Mr. Chaderton said the only way the protection can happen is through government involvement. He said a good place to start would be by protecting the wreck of the Christina, a ferry boat that went down off Nags Head on August 1, 1970.
“In a country as small as ours, that many people losing their life at one time (the site) should become a monument,” he said.
There have been foreign vessels that have dived the wreck which lies in 70 feet of water, but many of the local dive operators rarely go to the site out of respect for the dead and their families.
“It should either be left alone or dove in a manner of respect,” Mr. Chaderton said. “Offering a prayer and going there with a solemness… to treat it as if it were a cemetery, take nothing from the site.”
Mr. Chaderton feels the Christena would be a good start because it would get more public attention from the families of the victims. Once the Christena is protected and resources are in place for enforcing a no fishing zone, then branch out to the reefs, he said.
Mr. Chaderton said there is also grant money available to defray or even cover the costs of the resources needed to make this happen.
