By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The threat posed to The Bahamas by illegal charter fishing is "much larger than people think", a global investigator warned yesterday, "with at least a dozen" other US vessels under suspicion.

Mike Cenci, who has spent three decades investigating prohibited fisheries practices, and was part of the covert Operation Red Dawn 2 that led to last week's seizure of a vessel and its crew in the Berry Islands, told Tribune Business it is critical all Bahamians - not just the Government, law enforcement and prosecutors - understand the impact and consequences for this nation.

A former fish and wildlife police officer, special agent and sheriff's deputy in the US, who now works as a senior law enforcement advisor for WildAid to help The Bahamas and other countries combat illegal fisheries activities, he argued that such practices must be treated as "theft - plain and simple".

Mr Cenci, who praised the Government and law enforcement for treating the threat as a growing priority to be countered, told this newspaper that the "health of Bahamian society" is inextricably bound-up and connected with the "health of the environment and its natural resources".

Over-exploitation of this nation's fisheries resources by illegal charters, careless sports fishers and poachers, he warned, could lead to a collapse in stocks and potentially the loss of thousands of jobs and livelihoods connected to the Bahamian fisheries industry. In such a scenario, "social ills" will likely multiply and the country may face the kind of challenges that "befall places like Haiti".

To help prevent this, Mr Cenci called for The Bahamas to have "dedicated prosecutors" tasked to only deal with alleged crimes involving the environment, natural resources and fisheries. He added that it was critical that they by experienced criminal, not civil, prosecutors to give them a better chance of warding off attacks by defence attorneys and penetrating the "cover stories" of illegal charter operators.

When stopped and questioned by the authorities, the WildAid advisor said such vessels frequently have the story ready that all persons on board are their friends, who are helping cover costs associated with the trip such as fuel and hotel rooms, and that no charter arrangement exists. He added that such explanations can be tough to disprove and crack.

"The impact is real," Mr Cenci told Tribune Business of the latest suspected illegal charter bust in the Berry Islands. "This case, the vessel had made multiple trips to The Bahamas, particularly one which led to his demise where a covert operation was involved.

"There were previous trips where he'd taken US citizens to The Bahamas for a fee, and on one of those trips he charged $20,000 for the charter event. That was likely a multi-day trip. This particular trip, he charged us over $8,000. He had a two-day minimum; even if he took us out for one day, whether he spends one or two days, that's the fee.

"It was in excess of $8,000, which he was naive enough to break out; what all the different scenarios were, the separation of the funds." Mr Cenci acknowledged that the operation involved "covert, undercover work", although he did not confirm whether himself and/or other investigators posed as tourists and charter customers to gather the necessary evidence.

"The nature of the problem is much larger than people think," Mr Cenci said. "I am aware of at least a dozen suspected instances where individuals bring people from the US that we haven't even gotten to yet. In some cases, passengers are flying into The Bahamas and taken on board; in other cases they are brought directly from Florida, South Carolina, any of the coastal states in relative proximity.

"Fisheries is strictly regulated in the US where often-times businesses are limited, and there are only so many permits given so that they don't over-compete for limited resources. A lot of guys doing this have businesses in the US. They know the game. You cannot come to The Bahamas, do unregulated fishing and make thousands of dollars."

Mr Cenci said those involved in operating illegal charters frequently fail to properly clear Customs and Immigration when entering The Bahamas or, if they do, only obtain cruising and sports fishing permits while concealing their true intentions and not paying the necessary fees.

"In this latest case, this latest suspect, he was warned that he needed to become legal and legitimate, and his alleged response was very telling: 'These are really very close friends, my clients, no worries.' His message was: 'I got the cover story; I got this.

"With regard to fishing charters, it's so easy to hide in the licence. These are just my friends, helping me with fuel costs and other expenses. It's such a difficult case for law enforcement to penetrate. You just can't simply go down there to the dock and interview people."

The WildAid investigator added that illegal foreign fishing charters were the equivalent of "death by one thousands cuts" for the sustainability of Bahamian fisheries stocks, with hundreds of trips made by a small group of such operators matching the impact of a Dominican 'mother ship' and smaller support vessels.

"I think that what bothers me about these cases is that the understanding of the impact is not there," Mr Cenci told Tribune Business. "People ask: 'What's the big deal?' It's a licensing case. It's much more than that.

"A lot of this is seen as victimless. It's not like someone stole your car. You look out the window at your driveway and see that your car is gone..... But that's how people ought to view this case. It's theft. It's that simple. It's not a licensing case. It's theft of your natural resources.

"These guys are coming here because you have a lot of them [fisheries]," he added. "It just means that you have strict management; it doesn't mean they are not vulnerable, but you have marine resources here because you guys manage it and protect it. If not, you'll wake up like Haiti.

"You have to make people understand why they should care about this. If your natural resources become over-exploited, the social fabric will start to unravel and people will get up to all sorts of nefarious practices and become a problem for the police, Defence Force and Customs officers.

"You have to understand the very strong connection between the health of society and health of the environment and natural resources," Mr Cenci continued. "In The Bahamas, you are so dependent culturally and economically on marine resources, imagine what happens if they disappear tomorrow? Imagine the social ills that will follow.

"Imagine The Bahamas without conch shocks, conch salad. Imagine how many people have to find other forms of living if fisheries collapse? The Bahamas is such a resource-dependent country. I'm grateful for the Government's improved focus on protecting their maritime resources, and the things that befall places like Haiti will never happen.

"I'm not saying the threat is not real; it's real, but the fact it's become a priority exactly what needs to be done to ensure things don't fall apart." Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said 'Operation Red Dawn 2', launched from September 18–19, resulted in the seizure of a vessel and associated equipment, along with three persons.

“This operation was launched to address the persistent problem of unlicensed foreign fishing charters operating illegally in Bahamian waters. Such activities undermine the licensed Bahamian operators, deprive the Government of critical revenue, and are threatening long-term sustainability of our marine resources,” said Mr Campbell.

“The Bahamas fisheries sector is a cornerstone of our economy, generating hundreds of millions of dollars each year, supporting thousands of jobs and providing a vital source of food security. For these reasons, we cannot and will not allow legal actors to exploit our waters without consequence.”

The case has now been referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for further legal proceedings. “Now, this was not just a routine patrol; it was a carefully-planned covert operation designed to identify, monitor and interdict individuals operating outside of Bahamian law," Mr Campbell added.

"The evidence gathered indicates that the targeted vessel was operating in breach of the Fisheries Act, the Boat Registration Act and other related laws.”