Residents in the East are calling for a reopening of the sea egg season as police continue their war against poachers.
On Friday, lawmen caught Bath Land, St John resident, Fernando Tudor, with six buckets of the delicacy near Three Houses, St Philip, and when he was hauled before the District “C” St Matthias Court on Monday, he was fined $1 000 in one month or six months in prison, by Magistrate Christopher Birch.
Tudor’s court appearance came a day after the discovery of hundreds of broken sea egg shells littering the beach at Martin’s Bay, St John.
Residents in the seaside community, none of whom wanted to speak on the record, said the sea urchins were big and plentiful and the ban on harvesting should end.
“The moss did something for them,” said one man, who asked a Nation team if they wanted some to eat.
“The problem is that people brek the shells and drop them on the roes,” he said, adding that a small plastic container could sell for as much as $80.
Another man put the cost at $100.
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