The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Having spoken with many fly fishing guides, lodge owners and international fishermen, I can say the following with absolute certainty.

What a handful of guides, V Alfred Gray and the Bahamian government have unleashed on The Bahamas will cost The Bahamas dearly. Most likely in the hundreds of millions of much needed dollars for these communities. Yes, hundreds of millions of dollars!

Let me begin by saying that in many small island communities the bonefishng industry is by far and away the main economic driver of the local economy.

This is especially true in Andros. And Abaco. And Acklins. And Crooked Island. And Eleuthera. And Cat Island.

There are legitimate complaints about this new law.

It is unorganised and unclear on how to comply. This is voiced by college educated people who successfully navigate regulations as part of their jobs. The idea that two or more fishermen in a boat must have a Bahamian guide is downright crazy. Most everyone agrees this is horrible. How could Gray and the government get it so so wrong?

Some second home owners are considering selling out and going somewhere more friendly. Note the word used, “friendly”. It has a value.

Many shop owners on the Out Islands count on the vacation home owners to boost their meager bottom lines, or allow them to just break-even each year, in this very difficult period of trying to do business in The Bahamas. It is very difficult to do business in The Bahamas. This is a fact. No business person argues with this statement. It is always the politicians who claim otherwise. On the business person’s side is the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report, which has had The Bahamas sliding in rank each year in recent memory.

No matter what we think of the World Bank, is this something to cheer?

What should be abundantly clear is this: a temporary civil servant in a supposed democracy is allowed to push forth his view and those of his confidants into law. Going against the prophetic voices which saw just this catastrophe coming. Yes, we are the laughing stock. Yes, this is a catastrophe for those of us on the Family Islands who depend on the money the fly fishermen bring. For our lodges, for our guides, for our restaurants, for our food and gift shops, for all of that money which would be circulating in our community. We have allowed our very way of life to be threatened by a bureaucrat.

We can’t even patrol our national parks, and now we are going to harass our tourist fishermen under the guise of caring about our resource. Get real. This law, which will cause hundreds of millions of dollars in lost, clean revenue to the Family Islands has already to this day caused millions in losses. This is a fact spoken to by every lodge owner and every guide I know. This was an anti-democratic attack against the people of The Bahamas. The opinions of the vast majority of the so-called “stakeholders” were ignored. This wasn’t just about protecting the resource. Despite the well spoken warnings that this would give us bad publicity, Gray and his advisers went ahead with this ill-fated scheme, immediately and substantially causing unnecessary and significant harm to our already fragile economy.

This bone-headed law will do nothing to protect the resource, and everything to discourage the world-class savvy traveller from coming to visit, and spend, in our country.

What is worse is that this was done with either ignorance or malice. One or the other. Both should be condemned as unacceptable from a civil servant.

I was told today by a lodge owner that some of their most loyal fishing organizations said their clients are cancelling their trips to The Bahamas and opting for Cuba, the Yucatan and Belize specifically because of these new regulations. Hey, Mr Gray. Do you have any idea how hard it has been to get these customers to come here? Do you have any idea?

The black eye that our fragile tourism industry has just sustained by the actions of Minister V Alfred Gray, the government of The Bahamas and a handful of short-sighted fishing guides is nothing short of criminal.

The damage has been done. It will not be easy to regain the client base that we have struggled so hard to achieve.

The only reasonable course of action is to demand the resignation of V Alfred Gray, specifically for the measurable damage this anti democratic legislation has already caused, and the further harm it will undoubtedly cause without benefiting the resource it was ostensibly written to protect.

By insisting on Gray’s resignation, and holding this action up for the world to see, we will be sending a message. People must see The Bahamas as a friendly place to come, enjoy, and to spend their hard-earned dollars.

I am absolutely appalled that a handful of people could so quickly destroy what took so long and cost so much to create. I have watched many of these bonefishing lodges from their inception. Bahamian people. They have struggled against an unhelpful government to achieve what has benefited so many Bahamians. And now this? We are allowing this government to get away with murdering our livelihoods. Want something to march about Bahamians? Get rid of Gray, and maybe the others will start to take us seriously.

VERY CONCERNED

Nassau,

January 15, 2017.