Reef Libre by Robert Wintner

Author:Robert Wintner
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630760748
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing

The afterdeck was enclosed with nylon and transparent vinyl panels to fend off evening breezes. A banquet table set for nine transformed the 9 × 15 space into a perfect dining salon. Golden light and sumptuous fare prepared with skill, growing friendships and a quart of rum after three excellent dives made for very good life aboard. Here, Amarilla sets the table for dinner at eight.

But how can one species rebound without the bio-support that species would require for a rebound? Hmm. I suspected the langoustes were taken in traps and the langouste catch had not yet been depleted, since we saw plenty of them on the reefs. Still, such steady, significant lobster catch in a place framed as “protected” made a ripple on the assessment pond.

And an assessment can make a difference. Anyone working the conservation front for results instead of fund-raising or “raising awareness” will point out specific problems and call for specific solutions. A shrill lament from aquarium hunters in Hawaii is, “You eat fish, don’t you?” But individual habits have very little impact on any situation, and solutions are mostly based on the supply side. Aquarium hunters might as well run through the suburbs of America netting songbirds to deep-fry for all-you-can-eat, calling out, “You eat chicken, don’t you?” Frontline activists can be most effective in adapting to the moment and making the big change later. The big change on langouste remains to occur at Jardines, but given Cuba’s comprehension of reef management in general, it seems far more likely to occur in Cuba than in the tropical outpost of the U.S.A. called Hawaii.

We’d heard about the Halcón menu from Fausto in Cayo Largo in a moment of pained nostalgia. He had just outlined the Cuban government’s focus on reef habitat and species abundance, and to that end its elimination of commercial fishing and its predictable hatred for the aquarium trade, as all reasonable countries do. So far, so good, in aligning his values and Cuba’s values with reef advocacy values around the world. Most important of all these values is the relatively recent Cuban ban on shark fishing, to optimize prospects for ocean redemption in the area. He’d mentioned the delectable menu aboard the Halcón casually, in passing, as one might gloss over a former romance still tender in the heart. Of course a significantly different menu at Cayo Largo underscored his loss, but I pressed for clarification. “You say we will have fresh-caught fish every day at Jardines. Is that a special dispensation to tourism? Because it might not seem like much of an effect on fish populations, but it is, moreover demonstrating special treatment for those able to pay.”

Fausto understood special dispensation and the toll it takes on revolutionary principles—or maybe he only remembered the fish he ate at Jardines. “I will tell you that all the fish eaten at Jardines is taken outside the park. The boats that go to catch the fish must leave the park first.”

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