Matthew Robinson – aka Jamaica Food Boss on YouTube – vlogs about popular dishes in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. In three videos, he introduced viewers to the popular food of the Bahamas: the sea snail, whose distinctive spiral shell is synonymous with the Caribbean, decorating many a mantle as a souvenir of a visit to the region.
“Cut it into small, fine pieces, so that every time you take a bite of the salad, you get a piece of fungus in it,” explains Robinson, recounting the actions of the fleet chef, who deftly cuts the white. the flesh of the creature that was so fresh from the sea that it was still moving as he took it.
“I’m very excited about it. This is one of my favorite meals,” Robinson said. He bought a “regular” salad with tomatoes, onions and green peppers and a “tropical” salad that also included chopped mango and pineapple.
The chef offered him a long, thin pipe. Waving, it looked like a translucent worm. Robinson explained that it was part of the mushroom’s gut and was considered an aphrodisiac, called the gun or Bahamian Viagra. Robinson tilted his head back and slid the tube down his throat.
“Not much flavor,” he reported. “This is something the Bahamas is known for. And what you should have when you try here is what I heard.”
In the video, Robinson tried other popular casing dishes: casing fritters and cracked casing. The latter, dipped in batter and deep fried, looked like pieces of chicken. “It’s very addicting, similar to the name,” Robinson said.
The concussion, the queen’s sheath to be precise, is an integral part of Bahamian cultural identity. The shell – pale orange on the outside and pearly pink on the inside – is on the crest of the country’s coat of arms. Online lists of must-try Bahamian foods include many saucy dishes. Thousands of Bahamians make their living directly or indirectly from mushrooms and other seafood.
“There is no Bahamas without conch,” said Lindy Knowles, senior science officer with the conservation NGO Bahamas National Trust, in an Associated Press article last year about the decline in queen conch numbers in Bahamian waters.
Other articles have been published over the years warning of the danger facing the species. It has now reached the point where experts estimate that the queen’s cocoon is unlikely to be a sustainable industry in just six years.
Tthe problem is overfishing and it has affected many species that are important to the diet and culture of the region. Overfishing not only removes many adult fish, but also many young fish that have not yet reproduced, leading to an overall population decline. As a result, Caribbean governments and NGOs have taken steps to protect the animals, whose loss could strike at the heart of Caribbean society and economy.
The Nassau band, named after the capital of the Bahamas, is used to make band fingers. It involves cutting the fish into thin strips, coating it with batter and deep frying it. But the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the fish as critically endangered.
Meanwhile, spiny lobster or spiny lobster – which lacks large claws and is valued primarily for its tail – is the Bahamas’ top seafood export, with the industry valued at $90 million.
In Jamaica, red snapper is preferred to make the distinctive escovitch fish. The fish is coated with spices and other seasonings, fried, then soaked in a pickled sauce made with various vegetables, including sweet peppers and onions.
Parrot fish can substitute. But both parrotfish and snapper, along with the grouper, are of concern to environmentalists, as they are all important to maintaining coral reefs – a major tourist attraction that is also being destroyed by human activity.
In Trinidad & Tobago, the roast and shark is legendary. A large round, deep-fried roast filled with fried slices of shark meat and topped with various toppings and spices, most enjoy it at Maracas Beach on Trinidad’s north coast.
Similarly in Bermuda, traditional shark hash is made by frying minced shark meat in shark liver oil along with onions, pepper and other spices.
But many shark species are listed as vulnerable or endangered. Sharks are apex predators, so reducing their numbers destabilizes the entire marine ecosystem and harms many other Caribbean fish stocks, including those already mentioned in this story.
The region’s biggest challenge is illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, explained Natalie Miaoulis-Maillis of the Nature Conservancy, a US-based NGO that operates around the world. She was speaking on their online program, Caribbean Currents.
“IUU fishing is one of the biggest threats to the sustainability of our fisheries in the region. Because we lack the capacity or resources to enforce our fishing rules and regulations, this leads to a lot of illegal activities,” she explained. “Subjects from other countries are coming into our countries and breaking our laws and fishing and harvesting illegally, which puts more pressure on our resources.”
Of course local fishermen also contribute to overfishing. Miaoulis-Maillis likens it to using a bank account without keeping track of how much money is taken in and out of the account.
“If we don’t know how many fishermen are participating in a fishery, how many are dependent and also how much we’re removing from our ocean, then we really don’t know how to properly manage our fisheries,” she said. “This is a big problem for our region compared to other countries that have very good data collection and recording mechanisms.”
Ssome of the steps the region has taken to save their fisheries include marine managed/protected areas or sanctuaries, which allow law enforcement to focus their limited resources on key spawning or nursery areas for the species; total or seasonal bans (the latter coincides with breeding schedules); banning certain practices such as spearfishing or the use of small mesh nets; and requiring that the fish caught be of a certain size to prevent the removal of juvenile fish.
Jamaica has 18 sanctuaries, including Pedro Bank, where most of the island’s queen population is found. After a two-year total ban on mushroom fishing, a five-month seasonal ban was imposed in 2021. A fishing limit of 300 tonnes has been set for large boats and 50 tonnes for artisanal boats.
One sign that these efforts are seeing some success is that the Jamaican Shellfish Group – a conglomerate of companies that trade most of the Jamaican shellfish – has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an NGO that assesses the sustainability of fisheries. It is something that will be put on the labels. This makes seafood more appealing to discerning customers.
The spiny lobster fishery of the Bahamas is also MSC certified. And the president of the Bahamas Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Adrian LaRoda said about it Nassau Guardian that 2024 is “a good year for spiny lobster fishermen,” and attributes it to a decrease in poaching.
The Bahamas has sanctuaries that are controlled by a Marine Action Partnership between the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Ministry of Homeland Security, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Customs, Immigration, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, National Fishermen’s Association and other fishing organizations.
Using similar measures, the Cayman Islands have saved their depleted Nassau grouper fishery. And the successes give hope to still-struggling fisheries – including spiny lobster in Bermuda. The government there has imposed catch limits and a seasonal ban, and is introducing regulations to protect shark populations.
Considering the importance of the fishing industry, failure is not an option. “If we want sustainable oceans, if we want healthy communities, we must always look at how we can improve our fisheries management,” said Natalie Miaoulis-Maillis. “Because it’s such a critical cornerstone for the sustainability of our region.”
Food resolutions
As the new year approaches, it’s a good time to recommit to sustainable food choices to help protect our marine environment for generations to come. Here’s a handy guide to seafood:
- Stable: carite, flying fish, lion fish, mahi-mahi, squid, wahoo
- Much less stable: Atlantic cro cro croaker, clam (especially if not farmed), jack (unless line caught), kingfish, lobster (avoid if less than 4”), tuna (unless line caught)
- Unstable: grouper, marlin, parrotfish, shark, shrimp, snapper, swordfish.
