The Tribune

THE Department of Marine Resources yesterday reminded the public that the Nassau Grouper fishing season has closed and the annual moratorium from Decmeber 1 to February 28 is in force.

In a press statement yesterday, the Department announced that “the taking, landing, possessing, selling and offering for sale of any fresh Nassau Grouper will be prohibited during the period 1st December to 28th February, 2015, throughout the Bahamas. Further, any grouper that is caught must be landed with head, tail and skin intact.” Persons found in violation of the rules and convicted may face a fine of $5,000 or a year in prison.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC) has listed the Nassau Grouper as “endangered” and pointed to the decline in population by some 60 per cent in the last three decades.

The majority of the remaining species can be found in the waters of the Bahamas.

The Department stated: “As practiced in the past, persons possessing Nassau Grouper prior to the initiation of the closed season are required to make a written declaration of the quantities of the resource in their possession to the Department of Marine Resources, or in the case of the Family Islands to their local Fisheries representatives, the Police or the local Family Island Administrator.”