By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A foreign vessel, seized in an undercover operation involving multiple Bahamian and US agencies for alleged fisheries law violations, has been freed by the Supreme Court in return for a $100,000 bond.

Justice Andrew Forbes, in a July 1, 2025, verdict, ordered that Highly Migratory, a sports fishing vessel, be released to its owner, self-described Florida businessman Mark Tsurkis, once he pays a security or guarantee equal to the maximum $100,000 fine that can be imposed if the vessel and its occupants are ultimately found guilty of the claimed breaches.

Noting that the boat is purportedly valued at $750,000, and that it is costing the Government $3,000 per month to store it at Grand Bahama-based Bradford Marine, the judge signalled that the vessel's release from detention made commercial and financial sense. 

And, besides having to lodge a bond ten times' higher than the $10,000 security he had suggested, Mr Tsurkis was also ordered to pay $20,445 - representing five months' worth of storage fees - to Bradford Marine and cover all costs involved in recovering the vessel from his own pocket. Any fish found on the vessel are to be given free to children's and elderly person's homes if still in good condition,

The Highly Migratory was seized on January 27, 2025, following an operation that was heavily publicised by Bahamian law enforcement authorities just days later at a press conference featuring Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, and Gregory Bethel, director of marine resources.

The operation, which involved the Customs Department, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Department of Marine Resources and WildAid, a marine enforcement organisation, was held up as an example of this country's renewed intent to crack down on vessels who violate Bahamian fisheries laws.

However, Justice Forbes, in his ruling, complained he had been placed in "unsatisfactory positions" by what he branded as "a rushed case" and the authorities' haste to quickly bring the matter to trial. He added that he was "initially perplexed" by the opposition mounted by both the Attorney General's Office and director of public prosecutions to releasing the Highly Migratory under bond.

For, while the three men found on board have been charged with breaching the Fisheries Act by conducting commercial fishing without the necessary licence permit, Justice Forbes noted that documents filed by the Government authorities themselves appear to show the Highly Migratory's captain possessed a valid sports fishing permit when the boat was seized.

The judge said claims by the Government that Mr Tsurkis himself agreed to "organise the illegal charter operation for monetary gain" were not supported by any evidence. And storing the Highly Migratory at Bradford Marine under the authority of the Fisheries Department violates the Fisheries Act, as any vessel seized under it is supposed to be in the Commissioner of Police's custody.

"This application stems from the arrest of the vessel that was seized as a result of a collaborative effort by teams of officers from various agencies, including a US agency, who commenced an undercover operation upon receiving information," Justice Forbes wrote, noting that investigators boarded the Highly Migratory posing as charter and fishing clients.

The vessel's captain, Ramel Sheikh, and two crew members, Mr Bacallo and Mr Longman, were arrested and charged with breaches of both the Fisheries Act and Firearms Act. The trio pleaded not guilty and were released on cash bail worth $20,000 each, with a case management hearing set for September 10, 2025.

Mr Tsurkis was not on the boat when it was apprehended, and subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking an Order that it be released after the vessel was "ordered detained" until the trial's conclusion. He voiced concern "about the value of the vessel being diminished if it is detained for months", with regular maintenance needed to prevent damage to the engine, bilge pump, hull and fish well.

Failure to conduct this maintenance, the Florida businessman added, created the risk it could be "rendered a total loss". L'Dina Pelecanos, a fisheries officer, in countering for the Government revealed that the Highly Migratory had been under surveillance since 2023 for conducting a suspected "illicit foreign charter operation".

Arguing that the evidence showed "the hallmarks of fishing ventures that ought to be prevented as a means of national maritime security interest", she added that a bond was insufficient and that releasing the vessel now would "interfere with or impede" the investigation and "greatly impact all future seizures". There was also the possibility that the boat might be ordered "forfeit" to the Government.

K Brian Hanna, the Bahamian attorney for Mr Tsurkis, noted that the Government's own evidence showed a sports fishing permit was granted to Mr Sheikh, the Highly Migratory's captain, on January 26, 2025. This was one day before the vessel's seizure, and was purportedly valid for three months until April 26, 2025, and stamped by Bahamas Customs. Limits were imposed on catch size and fishing reels.

Mr Hanna argued that his clients, via the permit "have a valid defence and will likely not be convicted". And, pointing out that the Highly Migratory could not be forfeited to the Government without a conviction, he added that the boat was "rapidly losing value, resulting in substantial economic loss for the owner".

The Attorney General's Office, though, hit back by asserting that the boat "had made 18 trips to The Bahamas since 2021 and did not have the appropriate registration, inspection and licences required to operate as a foreign fishing charter". Instead, all it possessed was a cruising permit. The director of public prosecutions argued that the release application was "premature" and Mr Tsurkis was a non-party.

"To put it mildly, the court was initially perplexed by the affidavit supporting the Attorney General's objection and the preliminary arguments filed on behalf of the director of public prosecutions," Justice Forbes wrote, noting the Highly Migratory's purported sports fishing permit that was produced with the Government's own evidence.

Asserting that the objection "is full of emotive language and very short on evidence in support", the judge also noted that the boat is, in effect, being detained illegally because it is not under the custody of the police commissioner. And he ruled that the vessel itself is not needed as an exhibit at the full trial.

"No evidence has been offered as to whether any fish were on board and, if so, what was the nature and value of the fish?" Justice Forbes wrote. "Furthermore, what has happened to those items since no Order was made, as required by the statute? This is just one of the unsatisfactory positions in which this court finds itself with a rushed case."