And, although Minister V. Alfred Gray reported Monday that there were no breaches, The Guardian observed grouper being sold on Saturday, hours before the ban was lifted.
A fisherman and vendor admitted he caught several groupers that afternoon and intended to off-load them later in the day.
Another fisherman at the Montagu ramp said a group of them had “brought in” grouper, some of which were for sale to the public. Inside a cooler, several groupers were observed being kept fresh on ice.
Nonetheless, Mr. Gray said based on reports from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, there were no arrests of fishermen for a breach of the law, which could net a $3,000 fine or a year in prison.
“Quite frankly, there have been no breaches of it (the grouper ban) coming to my attention. I am advised that in the latter days of the ban, one or two sightings were made of Dominican fishing boats, but I have not heard the facts on it,” said Mr. Gray.
The issue of poaching was raised by fishermen prior to the ban, one which they still complained about during the final hours of the ban.
Fisherman Rodney Neely said: “I don’t know why The Bahamas Government would go as far as put a ban on grouper for the Bahamian people and ain’t put a ban on grouper for foreigners. The Dominicans, the Cubans, Americans οΎ— they’re coming here anytime they want and fish. So, what sense this make? They joking and joking big time.”
“I am for protecting the grouper, but it means nothing for me and other Bahamians not to carry 500,000 pounds, if the Dominicans can leave the bank with 10 million pounds,” said another fisherman. “I ain’t saying I don’t want to preserve grouper. I want grouper here for my great grandchildren, but nobody in fisheries (ministry) knows what goes on out there. You can’t sit behind the desk and tell me what’s going on out there.”
Long Island fisherman Patrick Cartwright said consultation among the ministry, fishermen and the Defense Force could effectively “crack down” on poachers, particularly Dominicans.
He offered this suggestion: “If Defence Force work with Bahamian fishermen, then all they need to do is put a boat out in a certain area, because Dominican fishing boats usually come out in the middle of the bank, about four or five miles near the rock … and if you have a boat out there and change crew every so often you can catch all of those illegal boats.”
Asked how open his ministry was to consultation, Mr. Gray assured that dialogue with all sides is in progress.
Said he: “Dialogue is always open … I invite every fisherman, whether he be from Inagua, San Salvador, to come in with any ideas they may have, write to us and certainly we would want to consider what our people are saying.”
Aware of the poachers, Mr. Gray said government recently acquired an aircraft to patrol Bahamian territorial waters, alert any suspicious findings to the relevant authorities, which will in turn make the necessary arrests. This, he said, would also eliminate Bahamian fishermen being threatened with weapons by illegal fishermen.
“Once those things are put in place, it is hoped that the courts will assist us and enforce the swiftest fines and imprisonment, so poachers would know that it would not be good to come to The Bahamas for illegal fishing, because they lock you up, they take your boats and when you go back, you have to start all over,” Mr. Gray said.
Later this year, the ministry intends to extend the ban on Nassau grouper from one month to two months, then, eventually to three months. For the time being, cabinet has only approved a two-month ban, from Dec. 16 to Feb. 16, 2005.
“We announced it early so that fishermen could get used to it and they would put their economics in order to accommodate that eventuality,” said Mr. Gray.
The ministry is also considering placing a ban on conch, after receiving reports of a potential shortage on that seafood.
“It has come to my attention that the conch is getting scarce and we certainly may need to look at banning the fishing of conch in the future. While we have not established a time-line when that may be put into effect, when the need arises government will certainly put it into effect on that seafood as well,” he said.
Minister Gray said he was confident the majority of fishermen supported the ban. In addition, he said he is prepared to do what is necessary to preserve and protect the fishing resources of The Bahamas and “hopefully, citizens will see the fruits that we were trying to bear today.”
Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
