By Simon Lewis
MCLEAN'S TOWN, Bahamas (BIS): Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Larry Cartwright said Friday that the Government of The Bahamas is working on solving the illegal fishing problems that exists in the country.
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| Bahamas Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Larry Cartwright. BIS Photo |
Cartwright's comments came as he addressed a gathering of fisherman at the public school in McClean’s Town, Grand Bahama on Friday evening.
Residents in east Grand Bahama had told the minister during the town meeting that they were not only concerned about the harvesting of lobsters and other marine species during the off season, but the illegal fishing by foreigners in the northern region.
In fact many felt that the Americans are the biggest violators of the law as they come to The Bahamas with the latest technology and since they are positioned only some fifty miles off Grand Bahama, the come and go as they wish with many of the marine resources.
Firstly, Cartwright informed residents that his ministry is addressing the problem of insufficient fisheries officers in the country, which could help in solving the problem of illegal activities.
Additionally, the minister said that the Royal Bahamas Defence Force is increasing its presence in the Northern Bahamas and is establishing a base on Grand Bahama Island.
The Minister for Housing and National Insurance, Kenneth Russell who serves as the Member of Parliament for the High Rock Constituency confirmed that the base is being established at the old police compound at Peel Street, and that Defence Force Officers have been working on the facility for several weeks. Russell also attended the town meeting.
Cartwright said that while the Defence Force currently does not have sufficient craft and manpower to cover this archipelagic nation that they are in the process of buying several go-fast boats that can be used by our fisheries officers both in the northern and southern Bahamas.
Additionally he advised that “the United States Government has also provided some extra crafts for us and the Defence Force is also buying two new aircraft, so we will have aircraft surveillance as well.
“We believe that what we have in mind right now, and the plans we have in place, we are going to lick this whole situation of the pouching on the Great Bahama Bank or the Little Bahama Bank or where ever it is taking,” he said.
Cartwright also reminded residents that “we as a country, as a nation are not to the point where we can say exactly where our limitations, our boundary are, between us and the United States, between us and the Turks and Caicos Islands, between us and Hispaniola and between us and Cuba.
“There are certain areas out there that maybe classified by some as neutral zone. The Americans may be saying well that’s ours because we are allowed to fish 200 miles offshore, and you know if you go 200 miles off Florida where you are going to end up,” he pointed out.
Cartwright went on to say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently working with various persons to try and reach some sort of international agreement whereby we know that at certain point between Grand Bahama and Florida, we have crossed the boundary of the Bahamian waters into United States waters.
He said the same is being worked on in respect to our boundaries between the Turks and Caicos Islands and other neighboring countries. According to Cartwright, once that is done we can really say to boaters that you are in our territory.
The Minister for Agriculture and Marine Resources also sought the fishermen’s input into proposed changes to the Fisheries Act and adding closed season for some additional Bahamian seafood.
On the matter of the closed seasons he said when they discussed it with fishermen in the other islands it was pointed out that the Ministry has no intention of “taking the bread out of anybody’s mouth and we know that we can’t have all of the seasons closed at the same time.”
He said that we are faced with the situation where crawfish, conch, stone crab and turtle for most part have their spawning seasons during the summer months and the suggestion was put forth that if there is to be a closed season for conch, it would be around July when fisherman are getting their boats ready for craw fishing.
Again he reminded the audience that a closed season would only take place if there is a need, and on the advise of fisherman.
He also used the occasion to remind fisherman that there are some rules and regulations attached to bone fishing in the country at that bone fish is a “catch and release species” and is not an items that you put up for sale.
Continuing he drew attention to the Free National Movement’s Government handbook, Manifesto 2007 which he said indicated that “the one of the Acts that the Government would be looking at during this term in office will be a revision and amendment to the Fisheries Act.
According to Cartwright, the Fisheries Act is fairly outdated and there are many things that need to be changed. He invited fishermen to give their input on possible changes to the Act.
He noted that there was some new regulations added to the Fisheries Act back in January of this year and that at the time they were made there was also mention of the need to look at how the new regulations would affect the various tournaments, since there are a number of sports fishing tournament that take place in the northern Bahamas.
“We are right now amending the Fisheries Regulations to include the tournaments and to revisit the catch, the bag limits that were proposed in January 2007. Again, if you have any suggestions on that please let us have them through your Member of Parliament, your Local Government persons or the Fisheries Officers,” he said.
Cartwright was on his first official visit to Grand Bahama. He spent two days on the island meeting with farmers, fishermen, visiting the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation offices and property, meeting with straw and handicraft vendors, officials at the Grand Bahama Port Authority, South Riding Point Holdings Limited and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce. |
