It has been almost two weeks since Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray ordered the 15-strong fleet out of the country “forthwith”, but the boats remained tied up at Andros yesterday.
“We are” planning to come back to Nassau this week,” Loxwell Russell, a fisherman, told The Tribune. “The government promised that they would be in full pursuit of the situation in the first week but the boats are still here.”
A 94-ft processing ship Da Hua – the mother ship – arrived in Grand Bahama on Thursday. It was moored at Bradford Marine for repairs to its hull.
Government officials yesterday insisted that its position -that the Korean boats are unwelcome in an industry that is strictly reserved for Bahamians – had not changed, but local fishermen remain uneasy about the future of their livelihood, and frustrated over the rate of progress.
They fear that their business will suffer tremendously if the high-powered fishing plans are allowed to go forward.
The Korean boats controversy came to a head late last month following strong objections from Bahamian fishermen, environmentalists and politicians.
Although Minister Gray had told the House that the vessels had been “impounded*, he later ordered them out of the country BAIC executive chairman, Sidney Stubbs, resigned over the matter. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Michael Halkitis will temporarily replace Mr. Stubbs as BAIC chairman.
To the government of the Bahamas, to whom we have entrusted the responsibility of looking after the affairs of our country, to think that they re going to allow this to happen under their watch in spite of the charade they put up for us in the House (of Assembly) last week, is difficult to believe,” said Larry Newton, a fisherman.
“I want to remind Mr. Vincent Peet, our MP and immigration minister, that last week he emphatically stressed to the fishermen who went to Nassau that this will be dealt with. We are very disappointed.
“But like I told him on the steps of the House last week, I felt that what they were doing was a smokescreen so that they could allow persons to straighten out things to appear to be legitimate. I am still watching, but based upon what I am hearing about these boats, I now feel I was correct in saying that it was a smokescreen.”
State Minister of Finance James Smith said government is in the process of issuing notices ordering the fleet to leave the Bahamas. Mr. Smith said some of the crew members’ permits had expired and they have been given notice to leave the country.
But Mr. Russell said the fishermen would not be satisfied until the boats were “out of sight”.
Although there are seals on the boats’ windows indicating that the fleet is being held by Customs, some of the Korean crew are still in Andros – others have left – and have free access to the boats, and come and go at will. Supplies which may have been ordered before the boats were ordered removed, continue to arrive, leaving local fishermen very apprehensive.
Mr Newton believes that fishermen will have to get together and “sit down in Bay Street” for government to get the message.
Customs Comptroller John Rolle was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, Earlin Williams, CEO of Netsiwill Holdings Ltd. which claims ownership of the boats insists that it is pushing ahead with its plans to establish itself in several fishing communities in the Bahamas.
“We are a Bahamian operation Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt denied that the Defence Force had been instructed to escort the boats from the Bahamas into international waters, but made it clear that government’s position on the issue had not changed.
A government spokesperson told The Tribune yesterday: “In any eventuality the boats will not remain in The Bahamas despite what others might say. This is a done deal. Nothing is happening for them.”
By Erica Wells, The Tribune
