The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Editor

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian fishermen yesterday hailed this season's 45 percent increase in crawfish prices to $16 per pound as "the best we have ever had" since they started in the industry.

Keith Carroll, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance's (BCFA) vice-chairman, told Tribune Business: "This is the best price we ever had since I have been fishing. The price for lobster now is $16 per pound, but the price was usually around $11 or $12."

He attributed the increase to The Bahamas' Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, which confirms this nation is using sustainable fishing practices that will preserve the environment and industry for future generations.

"For years we have been trying to get certified for MSC," Mr Carroll said. "That's the group that goes around to countries and, if you can show them that you are trying to protect the industry and protect the lobster for future generations, then they approve you to go on MSC.

"So that means when we ship our lobster from The Bahamas, that stamp is on our lobster. They go around and assess how countries are keeping the right fishing methods; if they are preserving for future generations, and are they throwing the small crawfish away .Things like that.

"Before MSC we could only have shipped lobster to North America and some parts of Europe, but now we can ship all over the world."

Despite the improved prices, Mr Carroll told Tribune Business that the crawfish season to-date has not met industry expectations. "Things ain't as good as we expected it to be, but we haven't had any cold fronts or anything like that," he explained.

"Usually by this time of year we have some cold fronts, but we haven't seen any coming through yet. A cold front usually muddies up the water, and the fish start to move and bring in new fish on the bank. Down in the southern Bahamas from the crawfish season was over it was calm, calm, calm."

Mr Carroll added that "at least 95 percent of the fishermen are upset" by the lawsuit filed against the Government by 20 nationals from the Dominican Republic and Honduras over the refusal to issue them dive compressor permits.

The men, who either have either spousal permits with the right to work or are permanent residents, are employed on Bahamian-owned fishing vessels as divers. These vessels are used specifically for capturing crawfish, and dive compressor permits are alleged to be essential for capturing lobster at certain depths.

However, Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, announced a Bahamian-only policy earlier this year. He said that under no circumstance would compressor permits be issued to persons who have work permits.

Mr Carroll said yesterday: "The fishermen stand with minister Pintard 100 percent with what he is doing. If all of the former ministers of fisheries were like him we would never have this problem in this country with what we are having now, because he is the first minister that denied them a permit to dive in this country.

"For you to have in your possession a license to dive with a compressor you must have a valid Bahamian passport or voter's card. That says it right there. Yet they are taking the minister to court for denying them a permit to dive in this country."

Mr Carroll added: "We have a new Act that is supposed to go to Parliament that strictly says fishing is for Bahamians only. They have been talking for the last 10 or 15 years about taking this Act to Parliament, but you know how many things that went to Parliament since this, like this plastic ban law? They started talking about this three months ago and it is already passed.

"Anything they want to pass, they pass. But they are not willing to protect this country for future generations..... The Government has to get serious with what they are going to do with fishing. We went over that Act. We had fishermen that we met, and changed what we think would be better for the future generation of fishermen. It went to the Attorney General's Office, and all we heard is that it is supposed to be ready to go. What I understand is it is ready to go to Parliament."