St. Maarten News —Although there is a huge threat by the invasive monkeys, the green iguanas and African snails which have been destroying crops on the island, there is still an initiative to have proper facilities such as an agricultural station on the island. This became clear when representatives of the sector gathered at the WIFOL building last Thursday evening.
Although the attendance of the meeting was very low, there were lively discussions on how to cope with the interference of the monkeys and green iguanas on how the deal with what is being considered as “pests” who invade the local farming grounds of the island. There were many suggestions on how to deal with these animals but it was made clear that it is urgent to find solutions to deal with it since several farmers have been complaining for years about how much they have lost in crops.
There was also the discussion on the invasive tilapia where the female fish lays about 500 eggs each time they spawn, which multiples the fish population at an enormous rate each year and destroys the local bass population which is said to be native to St. Maarten. However, although manager of the Nature Foundation Tadzio Bervoets said that the fish in the Great Salt pond are not edible and not fit for human consumption, agriculturist Joslyn Richardson argued that the fish only lay their eggs in fresh clear water which is responsible for their increase.
These fish not only eat and destroy the local fishes but also are found to have contaminants such as mercury in their system making it unfit for human consumption.
Source: Today SXM Agriculturists calling for government support
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