The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I refer to the recent announcement that the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, V Alfred Gray, has invited discussion with the Chinese Government on a joint venture with the Chinese to teach Bahamians how to farm and fish!

It is well-documented that the Chinese frequently employ a combined agriculture/fishery proposals to gain access to the marine resources of developing countries. Under separate cover I will share with Madam Editor a copy of an article in “Time” magazine on this very matter.

The idea of investing in agriculture is really nothing more than a Chinese smoke screen. The evidence is clear that they cannot be trusted when it comes to fisheries!

Shelf (shallow water) fisheries in The Bahamas are already under severe pressure. Such a venture as is proposed would have to expand into blue water fisheries. This would send the $100M+ sport fishing industry elsewhere (Cuba, Turks and Caicos, e.g.) resulting in severe hardship not only to Bimini, Abaco and the like, but also to some of our most economically needy Southern Family Islands, such as Cat Island and San Salvador.

Any further expansion of fisheries would have to be into deep ocean environments, and I understand from the experts it is without question that the deep-ocean is unable to withstand such fishing pressure. The economics of deep-sea fisheries are more closely related to the economics of mining rather than fishing, I am informed, and there is literally no biological way of fishing them sustainably.

Couple all of the above with the fact that new marine species are still being discovered in The Bahamas! We would literally be in the position of losing species before their existence has even been documented, if deep water fisheries were to be established here.

Finally, we know that the Defence Force is limited in its ability to enforce fisheries regulations, partially because they are woefully underfunded in their task to patrol our vast marine territory. We also know that we are rapidly losing our conch populations, not because of non-Bahamians in our waters, but principally because Bahamians themselves are taking small, immature conch (and lobster) from the sea. In some cases this is being done by the very individuals who are supposed to be protecting the resource.

So, who is going to police all these “new fishermen” in these new ecosystems when clearly we are unable to police the fishing community we already have?

This so-called agricultural and fisheries proposal is a typical short term idea, put forward by people who have no understanding of the fragile quality of our resources and no long term vision for protecting them.

A one-time payment for all of the marine resources in The Bahamas is what is being proposed, and then when the resources are all gone - the Chinese will also be – ALL GONE!

Wake up Bahamians. We are being invited to sell our souls for a few pieces of silver - AGAIN!

THE NIGHT HERON

Nassau,

November 7, 2016.