Selling lobster will be allowed during Caribana

Vendors in Barbuda will get a chance to make an extra dollar selling lobster during Caribana next month as the government has decided to temporarily lift the ban on the sale of the delicacy.
Under the Antigua & Barbuda Fisheries Act, it is unlawful to catch, sell or purchase lobster during the closed season which is from May 1 to June 30.
Cabinet made the decision to flex the regulation so that vendors can sell from June 1 to 5, during Caribana festivities on the sister isle.
Barbuda Affairs Minister, Arthur Nibbs, who is also Fisheries Minister, said Cabinet made the decision last week and it is to be ratified this week.
He explained, “What has been lifted is that people would be able to purchase lobster for food in and around the Caribana city during the period June 1 to 5. There would be no permission given for export of lobster. They would still have to observe the regulation in terms of size, egg bearing and that sort of thing.”
Marine Biologist John Mussington and the President of the Antigua & Barbuda Fishermen’s Cooperative Len Mussington both declined to comment.
Nibbs said the decision was made following talks with several people.
“Over the last two years there has been representation to me concerning this fact and what people are saying is, Barbuda is mostly known for its spiny lobster and then Caribana is our annual festival and it is just not one of the best ideas to have people coming to the island and not be able to sample that delight,” he told OBSERVER media.
Nibbs said he decided to take the matter to Cabinet for review.
 
(More in today’s Daily Observer)