THA revokes $10,000 shark bounty

OWING to concerns from environmentalists, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has revoked the $10,000 bounty it offered to registered fishermen to capture the bull shark that attacked 64-year-old British visitor Peter Smith at Turtle Beach, on April 26.

At a Zoom news briefing late on April 26, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said there was “some confusion” about the reward that was offered.

“During the course of the day a bounty went out offering $10,000 for registered fishers who can help us capture the bull shark. In some jurisdictions they refer to it as rescuing the bull shark, meaning being able to remove it from where it can cause harm to individuals to put it in a place where it can’t cause harm to individuals,” he said.

“So because there is some much confusion over the bounty that is out, I have asked for the ad to be retracted, effective immediately, and I have asked that the fishers work along with the Coast Guard, work along with the divers and other stakeholders to expertly man the area.”

Augustine said the Department of Marine Resources will continue to monitor the space.

“We have had constant monitoring during the day (April 26). We had monitoring from Coast Guard. We had monitoring from marine resources along the affected areas and that will continue across the weekend and into the foreseeable future so as to ensure that we can treat with the matter in the most responsible manner possible.”