This includes a fishing license and departure tax for four people, as outlined in a recent Sun-Sentinel article by Steve Waters and on the Internet.
Another concern of the boaterﾴs was that no warning was given for the implementation of the increased fees. This is understandable and the Government could have used a little public relations tact.
Many boaters contribute something to the Bahamian economy through payment for dockage and by purchasing gas, food and refreshments etc. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many sail and powerboat visitors do little more than steal the fish from Bahamian waters and head back home with their freezers stocked numerous times a year.
Most countries around the world have fees or taxes for hunting and fishing. For example, when friends of the undersigned visited Texas in 1986 to shoot deer, the fee for one buck and one doe was over $400. Why would visiting boaters/fishermen be complaining so bitterly over a fee of not more than $300?
It might be necessary for the Bahamas Government to determine a formula to charge those visitors that make no contribution to the local communities they visit while assessing a minimum fee to those that stay for a week consuming gas, food and refreshments etc.
While the Internet is a wonderful tool it can easily be used to bash countries and people. The Bahamas is far from perfect, but have the right to make an effort to protect its fisheries for its citizenﾴs if so desired. It is understood that the website, established to boycott the Bahamas over the proposed fee increase was inundated with messages supporting both sides of the discussion, is no longer functioning.
Many species of wildlife are protected in the United States, so Americanﾴs understand very well the problems associated with over fishing and poaching. People encroaching Bahamian fishing grounds and taking more than they are authorised is no doubt helping to endanger the survival of certain species of fish like the Nassau Grouper.
While the country is guilty of not enforcing laws in general, when it comes to poaching it is virtually impossible to police the entire expanse of water in the Bahamas. However, the Defence Force can certainly concentrate on the waters around the islands of Abaco, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and Bimini in an attempt to rein the problem fishermen in. Who knows this might be a good source of revenue for the cash strapped Public Treasury?
Rick Lowe
