• Fishermen say many lobster traps plundered before season

• Demand that Bahamas starts ‘making example’ of offenders

• Sector being ‘hit from all angles’ such as US, second homes

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Fishermen are urging the Government to treat poaching as “a major economic crime” with many yesterday said to be reporting that their lobster traps and condos were plundered before lobster season’s August 1 start.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s secretary, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas needs to start “making an example” of persons caught fishing illegally and not only seize their boats and catch but threaten to put them on the ‘stop list’ so that they can never set foot in this nation again.

Such punishment, he added, should not just be applied to well-publicised Dominican poachers but Florida residents and second homeowners who are found to be fishing out-of-season, exceeding their catch limits and interfering with traps set by commercial Bahamian fishermen.

“A lot of our members and a lot of fishermen are reporting that their lobster traps were dived well before the season opened,” Mr Maillis told this newspaper. “The poaching that comes from America is still steady, still remains. Always has been.

“And some of our members caught some of those second homeowners diving their condos a day or two before the season opened. They drove up, took pictures of them and these people said they were second homeowners and just doing some fishing. It’s crazy.

“It seems to persist year after year. People coming in from Florida, breaking the regulations, breaching their permits and catch limits. We have non-Bahamian second homeowners, and locals exceeding the catch limits and fishing before lobster season. They go out before the season so that they do not get left behind,” he blasted.

“It’s a combination of multiple poaching sources. It’s a combination of the non-Bahamian foreigners coming in from Florida and the like, then you have the second homeowners who live here and kind of think they’re above the law, and there are local Bahamians determined to make a living by diving other people’s traps. You have Bahamians that don’t follow the law. We have problems within our country as well. It’s coming at us from all angles.”

Mr Maillis urged the Government and its key agencies, especially the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Department of Marine Resources and Royal Bahamas Police Force, as well as Crown prosecutors, to treat poaching and other fisheries offences as “major economic crimes” given the impact they have on the livelihoods and income earned by fishermen and their families while also threatening the sustainability of a key export industry.

“The Government needs to understand fisheries crimes are major economic impediments and major economic disruptors to local investment,” he told Tribune Business. “If a Bahamian fisherman believes 50 percent of his investment will be stolen from him, why make the investment? That’s business for the harbour stores, business for the importers, business for the metal workers.

“We’re going to have a massive depreciation in our fishing industry long-term if we don’t do something to control blatant poaching. As a fisherman, you invest in your lobster traps. You invest in your boat. You hire a crew expecting that ‘x’ amount of traps will generate ‘x’ amount of lobster, and you catch one-third less than you expect to because of poaching. It’s going to impact the profitability and sustainability of your venture.”

Mr Maillis argued that “ignorance of the law is no defence and you should suffer the consequences” for violating Bahamian fisheries laws. He added that too many visiting fishermen from the US, as well as second homeowners, appeared to think they have an automatic right to catch as much lobster as they like without the need for a permit or adhering to its terms.

“Nobody should come in here without knowing there’s a maximum of ten lobsters allowed per boat,” he said. “There’s no excuse for being caught with several hundred lobster. Those playboys from Florida come out there to have a ball. They think we’re a joke. They think we’re incompetent, think we don’t know our own law and think we can’t stop them.”

The NFA secretary said it was especially “egregious” when foreign poachers posted about their exploits on social media, which he added will encourage others to follow suit. “We’ve got a big problem if we don’t make some examples of these people,” he added. “It’s going to keep going for ever, and eventually something bad is going to happen.

“When you keep harming the work of our fishermen, one of these days these people are going to get hurt by fishermen who have been infuriated by the damage to their livelihoods. I’m not endorsing that, and that’s not the way to go about it, but if you are threatening people’s livelihoods sometimes they are going to be aggressive.

“When we catch somebody we have to make a strong example of them. Confiscate their catch, take away their boats, put them on the ‘stop’ list. Tell them: ‘Do this again, and you will never come to The Bahamas again’. We have to send a strong message. We have to do what we have to do.”

Besides properly equipping and resourcing the relevant law enforcement agencies, Mr Maillis said The Bahamas needs to balance its status as a welcoming tourism destination with taking action against visitors who break the country’s laws and threaten its fisheries stocks.

“The poaching from Florida is a big deal, and I’m seeing a lot of anger in the fishermen,” he added. “This is a big deal year after year. We implore them to follow the law and be respectful of the laws, culture and customs of The Bahamas without being forced to do so.

“As Bahamians, we would never go to Florida and fish the same way they try to fish in The Bahamas. We wish that they show us the same respect as we show them.” The poaching threat comes as Bahamian fishermen are said to be facing a “serious predicament” with margins squeezed by low lobster prices and high fuel costs.

The starting $7 per pound price for lobster is creating a “major challenge” for fishermen. It is barely higher than the $6.60 per gallon diesel price in the Family Islands, meaning fishermen will spend between $264 to $330 on fuel per trip alone.

Darin Bethel, the North Andros Chamber of Commerce president, told Tribune Business: “The crawfish price at $7 is the lowest it’s been in over five years. Last season, the price opened at $12 per pound. Year before last it opened at $13-$14 per pound, and last year fishermen were disjointed with the $11-12 [per pound] opening prices; they wanted $15. And I have a lot of fishermen stunned as to how it is that the buyers can open the season and set the price so low.”