Bahamian fishing vessels which operate from New Providence left on their fishing voyages over the weekend – as is typically the case – in order to bring in the season at sea. The season will close at the end of March.
“My sources have advised me that boats locally and internationally [from] South Florida are bringing in a lot of egg-bearing lobsters,” said Senior Fisheries Officer Cirford Lloyd. “I advise fishermen to be careful how they use their spears.”
He added: “The Department of Marine Resources has no tolerance [for the catching of] egg-bearing lobsters. That means if we catch [fishermen]ﾅthey will be arrested.”
Marine officials have already crafted a set of recommendations aimed at identifying the challenges facing the sector, addressing them and preserving treasured fisheries stocks like crawfish, conch and the grouper from over fishing.
Already, the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Leslie Miller announced that as of next season, the closed period for crawfish will extend from four to six months.
Local fishermen have expressed worries about the adverse effects on their livelihoods from poachers and the breaking of fisheries rules and regulations. Additionally, Minister Miller has suggested that occupants of pleasure cruises and sports fishermen have been exploiting the waters of The Bahamas.
While the department has not changed any of the seasonﾒs laws, according to Mr. Lloyd, regulators will continue to stringently enforce the codes.
For instance, it is stipulated that only crawfish tails of at least five and a half inches can be marketed. In the case of a whole crawfish, the carapace should be three and a quarter inches from the base of the horn to the end of the shell.
The fisheries sector has also suffered from the effects of severe weather systems like the hurricanes of the last two seasons.
Mr. Lloyd reiterated concerns about illegal commercial fishing by foreigners.
“If they do not have the necessary documentation then we will deal with them accordingly,” he said. “No one should fish illegally in The Bahamas.”
Sports fishermen can however obtain permits from any port of entry into The Bahamas. Currently, they are permitted to net 20 pounds of fish, 10 conchs and 6 pounds of lobster per person.
Minister Miller also announced his intention to decrease these bag limits.
Additionally Minister Miller said that authorities are considering amending the law to include a provision making it clear that only Bahamian commercial fishermen have the right to access condos.
“Sports fishermen entering The Bahamas for pleasure and leisure have no right to enter any condos placed on the seabed of The Bahamas,” he said.
Crawfish or spiny lobster is considered the most important species in the commercial fishing industry in the Bahamas as it contributes more than 85 percent of the value of the recorded commercial fisheries landings in an average year.
Over the past five crawfish seasons, the average value of crawfish exports was $88.32 million per season, according to the minister. The most recent seasonﾒs exports were valued at $75.43 million.
By: Kendea Jones, The Bahama Journal
