The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Agriculture and Marine Resources, V. Alfred Gray, said yesterday that he would raise the issue of granting a 30-day extension to the grouper season in Cabinet.

The extension is being sought by the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), which said the move would assist fishermen who had suffered losses due to unfavourable weather conditions.

Mr Gray told Tribune Business yesterday: “I am aware of the BCFA’s position. I’m going to put it to my Cabinet colleagues, and whatever the decision is I will have a press conference to announce it, but there has not been a decision made on that particular issue as yet.”

The grouper season in the Bahamas traditionally closes on December 1 for three months, re-opening at the end of February.

BCFA president Adrian LaRoda recently told Tribune Business that extending the season would assist many fishermen who had suffered loss because of unfavourable weather, particularly Hurricane Sandy.

Mr LaRoda told Tribune Business that up until October things were going well for the fishing industry, but because of the weather and the passage of the hurricane, fishermen have not been able to be as productive.

Mr LaRoda said extending the season would go a long way to fortifying the Government’s relationship with the fishermen, adding that it was the BCFA’s belief that the extension would not impact the fisheries stock.