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Underwater photographer calls to regulate chumming

Fri, Dec 22nd 2023, 09:02 AM
Tribune Stories

A POPULAR underwater photographer joined calls to regulate chumming following a shark attack that killed Lauren Erickson Van Wart, 44, two weeks ago as she paddle-boarded three-quarters of a mile off Sandals Resort.

Andre Musgrove, a diver, spear fisherman and filmmaker, said killing sharks is not sustainable for reducing shark-related incidents.
Mr Musgrove, who became passionate about underwater exploration from a young age, agreed with Bahamas Humane Society president Kim Aranha, who linked chumming in public swimming areas to recent shark incidents.
Mr Musgrove explained that chumming “is putting food scraps fish, crops, animals, marine animal crops into the water, no matter how you’re doing that”.
He noted that chumming happens mostly where fish cleaning locations are located, such as Potter’s Cay Dock and Montagu Beach, “where a lot of fishermen go to clean their fish and charters and stuff”.
“Most of the fish scraps get thrown into the water into the channel,” he said. “And that’s where you have a lot of bull sharks. Because the bull sharks are there, because they’re being fed almost every single day, these fish scraps travel.
“Constantly putting bait in the water in a particular area is going to attract marine animals to frequent that area.
“I think the first thing that should be looked at is reevaluating how chum is put into the water and putting regulations in place of how it should be done.”
Mr Musgrove said discourse between marina owners and the government should shape the regulations.
“Some regulations can be as basic as, instead of just throwing random baits in the water, instead of doing it in a wild manner, like uncontrolled, maybe it can be put into the bait, or it can be a specific kind of chum, maybe just fish or squid or something so the scent is just in the water and it’s being controlled by the person that’s in the water who can see what’s coming around.”
“I think when it comes to the much larger scale fish cleaning, of course, we’re not gonna stop fishing. I fish and spearfish myself.
“But I think looking at alternative measures to do after we clean our fish, instead of just throwing it off the dock, maybe there can be collection bins stationed at fish cleaning locations.
“They never need to go on the water around the marinas and then they can be deposited in those bins and then later collected and then deposited somewhere further offshore in much deeper water, where tourists or divers or swimmers are far less likely to swim and drop off in thousands of feet of water where it can sink and still go back into the marine ecosystem.
“I think solutions like that would be a big start on controlling where sharks frequent. And that’s not by killing sharks.
“Sharks are attracted to places they get food and the places that chum the most in The Bahamas would be marina stations or fish cleaning stations where fish are constantly being thrown in the water.”

Andre Musgrove, a diver, spear fisherman and filmmaker, said killing sharks is not sustainable for reducing shark-related incidents.

Mr Musgrove, who became passionate about underwater exploration from a young age, agreed with Bahamas Humane Society president Kim Aranha, who linked chumming in public swimming areas to recent shark incidents.

Mr Musgrove explained that chumming “is putting food scraps fish, crops, animals, marine animal crops into the water, no matter how you’re doing that”.

He noted that chumming happens mostly where fish cleaning locations are located, such as Potter’s Cay Dock and Montagu Beach, “where a lot of fishermen go to clean their fish and charters and stuff”.

“Most of the fish scraps get thrown into the water into the channel,” he said. “And that’s where you have a lot of bull sharks. Because the bull sharks are there, because they’re being fed almost every single day, these fish scraps travel.

“Constantly putting bait in the water in a particular area is going to attract marine animals to frequent that area.

“I think the first thing that should be looked at is reevaluating how chum is put into the water and putting regulations in place of how it should be done.”

Mr Musgrove said discourse between marina owners and the government should shape the regulations.

“Some regulations can be as basic as, instead of just throwing random baits in the water, instead of doing it in a wild manner, like uncontrolled, maybe it can be put into the bait, or it can be a specific kind of chum, maybe just fish or squid or something so the scent is just in the water and it’s being controlled by the person that’s in the water who can see what’s coming around.”

“I think when it comes to the much larger scale fish cleaning, of course, we’re not gonna stop fishing. I fish and spearfish myself.

“But I think looking at alternative measures to do after we clean our fish, instead of just throwing it off the dock, maybe there can be collection bins stationed at fish cleaning locations.

“They never need to go on the water around the marinas and then they can be deposited in those bins and then later collected and then deposited somewhere further offshore in much deeper water, where tourists or divers or swimmers are far less likely to swim and drop off in thousands of feet of water where it can sink and still go back into the marine ecosystem.

“I think solutions like that would be a big start on controlling where sharks frequent. And that’s not by killing sharks.

“Sharks are attracted to places they get food and the places that chum the most in The Bahamas would be marina stations or fish cleaning stations where fish are constantly being thrown in the water.”

 

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