EDITOR, The Tribune.

The discriminatory element within the Free National Movement (FNM) government’s Fisheries Bill, 2020 has caused somewhat of a brouhaha within its ranks, with East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham both expressing opposition to it.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would imagine that the group, The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), which lobbied the former Progressive Liberal Party administration under Mr. Perry Christie to repeal the policy of granting permits to alleged Dominican fishermen married to Bahamian women in 2012, is ecstatic.

For years, Bahamian fishermen have complained about the practice of what seemed like marriages of convenience, in which Dominican men engaged in the fishing sector are marrying Bahamian women. In many instances, these Dominicans can hardly count from one to ten in English, yet are able to say “I do” in perfect English before a Bahamian justice of the peace.

With the Dominican Republic boasting some of the most beautiful women in the Caribbean and indeed the world, why are so many Dominican men anxious to tie the knot with Bahamian women?

The BCFA believes that these marital arrangements were designed to get the Dominicans into The Bahamas legitimately. They would then collaborate with their counterparts back home in the Dominican Republic, who would then engage in widespread poaching in the southern regions of The Bahamas.

Not being Bahamians, these men obviously have no sentimental attachments to this jurisdiction. Dominican fishermen have just about depleted their fish stocks due to decades of unsustainable practices. That’s why they have set their sights on the waters of The Bahamas. Our waters are teeming with marine resources. Left unchecked they would have depleted our fish stocks in the southern Bahamas in a matter of decades.

The Fisheries Bill, 2020 is one effective way of pulling the rug from under this apparent scam. Now, Dominican fishermen no longer have an incentive to marry Bahamian women.

I agree with Ingraham and Turnquest that this legislation is discriminatory. But not all forms of discrimination is immoral. For instance, no sane Bahamian parent would entrust their underaged children in the care of known paedophiles. That, my friend, is discrimination.

In any case, the Bahamian spouses of Dominican fishermen have made their bed, now they should lie in it. Years of abusing the process by treating our Bahamian birthright with contempt has finally caught up with them.

May I suggest to the naysayers of this Bill to direct their attacks at these misguided Bahamians, not the FNM. This is about putting Bahamians first.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport, Grand Bahama,

December 21, 2020.