Holster That Gun

The above image is an actual online advertisement from an alleged "ecotourism" company in Belize. The company is an all-spearfish-all-the-time business that touts the following conservation policy:

It is our policy (and the policy of Club Carib Resorts), to avoid any "kill and discard" fishing practices. All fish harvested will be consumed as food, either at Spiritwind Reef Resort or freely distributed to the poor in our community. NOTHING is EVER WASTED... GUARANTEED!

Admirable sentiments.

But there's a problem. The image in the ad is a Nassau grouper aggregation site. Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus)--found from Bermuda and Florida throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean Sea--is a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service Species of Concern and an IUCN Red List Threatened Species. It is estimated that the population has declined by approximately 60% over the last three generations (27–30 years) and the species is considered seriously over-fished.

One of the prime factors for decline of the Nassau grouper is that spawning aggregation sites (such as in the above image) throughout the Caribbean have been targeted by fishers where many individuals, in reproductive condition, are removed. So big fish are being removed from the reefs before they can restock their populations.

While the creators of this ad are correct in calling this a "grouper gang bang," it's highly unsustainable (and greenwashing) for an alleged ecotourism business to suggest "somebody get my [spear]gun!!"

I'm not anti-spearfishing. But I think honesty and acknowledging your impacts is important to an environmentally sustainable business. The company claims that their spearfishing business, "is (unfortunately) in danger of extinction, due to the pressures of perceived political correctness." I'm in no position to comment in that regard. But spearfishing big, reproductive Nassau grouper at spawning aggregations is certainly one speedy path to ecological and economic extinction.

They should instead be recommending cameras.