Canadian Salmon

Fernando Lessa · Issue 96, May/Jun 2017 · pp. 60–63

sea is too rough for fishing. It is also the main reason why they were forced to learn through their own mistakes what means sustainable and how to respect the marine environment. The fish traps utilization demonstrates that traditional methods does not necessarily mean sustainable. To use “bubu”, the trap has to be placed on the reef surface. In order to provide a stable base the area often has to be cleared of corals, which means direct damage to the reef. Many fishermen now understand the detrimental effect on the reef if they clear a new area each time they place the fish trap. Nowadays many of them will reuse the same cleared spot before relocating it. This gives a reef more time to recover the growth on the cleared area. Additionally many fishermen will place the trap on a naturally flat spot void of corals or they will simply place it closer to the shore on the sandy patches. “Bub…