By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Ministry of Finance’s top official yesterday rejected arguments that new and increased boating fees will “scare away” high-spending tourists, and asserted: “The Bahamas is for Bahamians.”

Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, defended the increased cruising permit fees, and new anchorage and fishing permit fees, at a Rotary Club of West Nassau meeting. He voiced optimism that there will be no decrease in boating visitors, adding: “The numbers will tell you that’s the opposite.”

“The thing that you have to remember, and everybody has to appreciate, The Bahamas is for Bahamians. Yes, these are business, and we welcome them and so forth. But, at the end of the day, these are our resources for our children, our grandchildren and so forth. We have to protect them,” said Mr Wilson.

“You can’t go into Florida and throw your anchor willy nilly any place in Florida. You can’t go to Florida and fish and harvest without permission and a licence. So all we’re trying to do is ensure that we protect our resources. We see over 10,000 boaters a year, unique boaters.. over 10,000, and a great fraction of those boaters pay nothing.

“They don’t stop at Customs. They pay nothing. They go into the sea. They throw garbage out. They do whatever they want to do. They pay nothing. They fish, and some of them harvest seafood for resale in the US. That’s a serious challenge.”

Mr Wilson maintained that the Government’s new and adjusted fees were implemented to ensure the environment and future fiscal success is protected. He added that despite speculation of “doom and gloom” due to the new fees, Family Island marinas are still “doing very well” and the fees implemented are “nominal” for the majority of boaters that own large large high-end vessels.

“Our focus is trying to ensure that we protect the marine environment, and our overall environment, because that underpins our fiscal success. You can’t separate The Bahamas from its environment, and our fiscal success, our economic success, depends on our environment. And that’s a very, very important point,” said Mr Wilson.

“And so even though we have been.. there’s been a lot of challenge. A lot of people saying doom and gloom, that marinas will close and marinas will so forth. I can say with confidence, the numbers will tell you that’s the opposite.

“When you go into the Exumas and you go into the Abacos, and some marinas are charging $8 a foot, the boaters understand what that means. And you have yachts 100 feet, 150 feet who traverse the country,” he added.

“Marinas here are doing very well. And these fees, $1,000 anchorage fee, cruising permits fees, if you have a boat, these fees are, I don’t want to say nominal - they’re not nominal to me - but to somebody who has a 150 foot or 200 foot or 300 foot yacht and 150 foot tender, these fees are nominal. But they will be put to good use protecting the environment and ensuring that we protect our fiscal future going forward.”

The Government is forecasting the reforms will more than triple annual revenues generated by this earnings stream compared to the old fee structure. The 2025-2026 Budget estimates disclose that cruising permit fees generated a combined $6.223m in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and were forecast - under the old structure and levies - to produce $5.518m in the just-closed 2024-2025 Budget period.

That represented a year-over-over decline of 11.3 percent, although $4.064m or 73.7 percent of the 2024-2025 full-year target had been collected during the first nine months of the last fiscal year through March 2025.

However, with the addition of the two-year frequent digital cruising card (FDCC) and new anchorage fees in particular, the Ministry of Finance is forecasting that the Public Treasury during the current 2025-2026 fiscal year will generate a total $17.868m from cruising permits and related levies.

This represents a 224 percent increase upon, or more than tripling of, the $5.518m cruising permit revenues projected for the 2025-2025 fiscal full-year. The Ministry of Finance is forecasting that the FDCC, which permits vessels “unlimited entry” for a period of two years upon payment of a fee ranging from $1,500 to $8,000, which is linked to vessel size, will generate $9m alone during 2025-2026.

And the new anchorage fees, ranging from $200 to $1,500 “for foreign pleasure vessels not mooring at a marina”, and again linked to vessel size, are projected to deliver $2.8m in new revenues. Together, the FDCC and anchorage fees are predicted to produce $11.8m for the Public Treasury, with the new “temporary” 12-month permit for boats below 50-feet forecast to produce $4.417m

And the Ministry of Finance, despite all the dire predictions and warnings, is clearly anticipating that The Bahamas’ boating and yachting market will continue to expand as it is forecasting steady growth in the FDCC, anchorage fees and temporary cruising permit revenues through the next two Budget cycles to the close of the 2027-2028 fiscal year.

In particular, FDCC income is forecast to rise from $9m this fiscal year to $10m in 2026-2027, and then to $11.65m in 2027-2028, while anchorage fees are also projected to move from $2.8m to $3.08m and $3.452m over the same timeframe.

None of those voicing concern about the revised boating fees and their impact are disputing that The Bahamas has a sovereign right to determine and set these levies at the level it deems appropriate, or that visiting boaters should pay their fair share in taxes and fees in return for commercial exploitation of this nation’s waters and environment.

Instead, the main issue has been the zero consultation with boaters and industry, coupled with the lack of notice and time to adjust, as well as the scale and breadth of the changes and how they have been implemented in practice. This has led to significant uncertainty and confusion, with The Bahamas not providing a timely or coherent message to its visitors.