By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

AGRICULTURE and Marine Resources Minister Michael Pintard yesterday said he believes The Bahamas will get to the point of “completely banning chumming in Bahamian waters”.

The announcement came as Mr Pintard opened a two-day international shark symposium which features major international experts who will discuss a wide range of issues relative to sharks, their handling and protection.

The symposium comes on the heels of the recent horrific shark attack which claimed the life of 21-year-old American college student Jordan Lindsey.

Mr Pintard told the meeting: “We have a very serious concern about the increase feeding of sharks - particularly in residential areas on the periphery of restaurants to attract customers - that to us is posing a problem given where it is occurring.

“In addition, we believe it is important that fishermen that are cleaning fish to discontinue discarding the waste portion of the fish water in close proximity to where persons are swimming. We are absolutely clear that is a disaster that is waiting to happen and we wish to move definitively decisively to address this issue.

“We are in the process of requiring those that are running tour operations, hoteliers and others who benefit commercially from any shark viewing interaction initiatives, that they have in place appropriate protocols. That is equipment that they themselves, the persons who are engaged are properly trained that they know exactly what to do in the rare event of incidents.

“It’s also important - and (I) strongly recommend and will take advice possibly encoding it in law - that we have a guide that are a part of these expeditions who will be on the lookout for sharks.”

The minister said they are in the process of introducing an amendment to the Bahamas legislation.

“We do not believe it is appropriate to criminalize an individual who is under threat of harm or death from a shark if they were to defend themselves and kill a shark. We are not going to go to the opposite extreme and maintain a law that works against the preservation of human life,” he said.

“We certainly don’t intend to do that, but I want to emphasize that we stand in solidarity with you in the important work that you are doing and as we build the capacity of those persons both in government and the private sector.”

He added: “We look forward to fruitful discussions about international funding opportunities that will allow us to do the proper work particularly since the Bahamas plays a pivotal role in where we are located and the work that we do and how that impacts, we believe, the rest of the region.”

Ms Lindsey died after a shark attack near Rose Island last month.