By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian fishermen were yesterday said to be “distressed” over “ten-fold” rises in annual boat registration fees that are causing “a lot of panic” in the sector.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s (NFA) secretary, told Tribune Business that the body and wider fishing industry were hoping to first gain “clarity” over the increases, how they impact the sector and the wider fiscal objectives before seeking to meet with the Government to make the case for the fees to be adjusted.

With the Budget’s fee and other reforms now passed into law and in effect since July 1, fishermen and other Bahamian boat owners are only now just waking up to the scale of the increases imposed in the Water Skiing and Motor Boat Control (Amendment) Bill 2023 and its implications for their interests and livelihoods.

Mr Maillis said it appeared as if the reforms had effectively “taken away” the tax break fishermen previously enjoyed, allowing them to import their vessels duty-free, through the hike in first-time and annual registration renewals. And, given that fees were based on the length of vessels, as opposed to their use, value or owner’s wealth, he argued that fishermen whose “profits are on the margin” have to pay the same as owners of multi-million dollar yachts.

“This is an issue of great concern for us,” he confirmed to this newspaper. “With the increasing cost of doing business in The Bahamas, especially in the fishing industry, it’s distressing to see such a drastic increase in cost with regard to the registration of vessels. We’re talking a ten-fold increase in the cost per year for registering vessels.

“If you have a 50-foot commercial fishing boat, what would have cost you $250 a couple of months previously to register for the year is now $2,300 plus a $125 inspection fee. Another thing that is rather distressing is if you’re bringing in a boat for the first time you have to pay a base fee, or first-time payment, to register it. So now, if you have a 50-foot vessel, it will cost you $10,000 to register it for the first time.”

Commercial fishermen enjoyed a duty exemption on boats imported into The Bahamas. The Davis administration, in the 2023-2024 Budget, eliminated the VAT and Customs duties previously levied on private vessels coming into The Bahamas. It views this as both an offset to the increased registration, fees given that the combined tax rate now eradicated was 20 percent, and an incentive to encourage boat owners to register their craft in this nation.

Mr Maillis, though, said the fishing industry was awaiting clarity from Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, on whether boats imported for commercial fishing will also be exempt from VAT. “Minister Halkitis has promised to give a breakdown of the legislation, but we have yet to get clarity,” he added.

“We need it to be cleared up because it’s causing a lot of panic. No matter what the uses are, they have increased the registration fee ten-fold. And the owner of a 50-foot yacht has to pay the same price as a commercial fisherman who has put his life savings towards his boat, does a regular blue collar job on the sea and has to pay the same price as someone using their boat for pleasure.

“There’s no concession for fishermen. They’ve effectively eliminated the duty-free concession for fishermen.... We had a duty-free concession already. They gave the duty-free concession with one hand, and took it away with the registration fee increase. We would like the Government to reconsider some of these scales, and consider creating a segment specifically for fishermen and commercial fishermen,” Mr Maillis argued.

“We’re trying to encourage fisheries in this country. We’re trying to encourage productivity. I see articles about our multi-billion dollar balance of payments deficit, yet we’re discouraging people from coming into one of the primary export industries in the country and shouldn’t be doing that.

“Now, when you’ve made the registration fee so extremely high, you can see who will be hurting more: Is it the person with money, or the person in an industry whose profits are on the margin? It’s going to disproportionately impact us, especially those on lower incomes,” he continued.

“For a 20-29 foot vessel, which is a pretty average size commercial fishing vessel, it’s gone from $20 to $700 for the annual registration fee. It’s absurd. We understand the Government needs money. We really, really do understand, but how easy is it for someone with a 50-foot, $10m yacht to pay a $10,000 first-time registration fee compared to a fisherman who has to take out loans and spend thousands of dollars on essential infrastructure for their business? That $10,000 charge is a substantial amount.”

Peter Maury, the former Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, had previously flagged up the seven and ten-fold increases in first-time registration fees for particular classes of boats in a Tribune Business article. First-time registrants of vessels between 40 to 49 feet in length, and 50 to 59 feet, are set for fee increases from the previous $1,000 to $7,000 and $10,000 respectively.

And a 200-foot yacht will have to pay $35,000 compared to the current $4,000, which represents an eight-fold hike. It is unclear why other industries, and boat owners in general, did not react to or notice this, although it is possible some believed the hikes only applied to foreign-owned vessels.

One boat owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday described the registration fee increases to Tribune Business as “ludicrous” as their annual payment has risen from $100 to $1,650. Given that the deadlines for commercial vessel and private vessel registration are January 31 and March 31, respectively, they added that the majority of owners may not feel the impact for some months as it will only be late-comers that will be affected.

“It’s an insane increase. It’s just insane. If you crunch the numbers it’s insanity,” they said. “It’s not going to entice anybody. It’s going to drive them away. It will hurt small fishermen, subsistence people. It’s going to hurt your jet ski and tour boat operators, people like that.

“It’s ludicrous really. It’s just such a big one-time jump between the old rates and the new. It’s the 20-foot to 50-foot that is going to kill Bahamians. They’re not thinking it through, obviously.” Mr Halkitis did not respond to a Tribune Business message seeking comment before press time last night.

However, Mr Maillis added: “We’re going to hear back from the minister hopefully very soon. We’re hoping we can come to some sort of negotiation. We’re going to speak to the Government respectfully and see if we can some sort of agreement. We look forward to speaking to the Government through the Association and see if we can’t come to the table and make some improvements to the legislation.”