The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday said a "multi-pronged" approach is needed to ensure marine protection and sustainability, adding that this cannot be confined to anti-poaching measures.

Speaking with Tribune Business following a press to announce a public consultation over 44 proposed new marine protected areas (MPAs), Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is open to continuing discussions with the Dominican Republic over the fisheries poaching problem.

"One of the preliminary action points was that the government of the Dominican Republic had intended to place transponders on various vessels so that one could track their movements. There is nothing on our side to suggest that has been done or, if it was, those items were disabled because vessels that have been caught had no such devices on them," said Mr Pintard.

He stressed that a strong message must be sent to would-be poachers. "We have to send a strong message to those countries where persons are coming from and poaching. One of the ways you send a strong message is to dramatically increase the penalties," Mr Pintard added.

"If, presently, $50,000 is the fine given to a captain of a vessel that is found poaching, we must dramatically increase that. If the crew pays $2,000 it must be increased so that it becomes a disincentive."

Mr Pintard added, though, that the discussion should not be confined only to poaching. "We must also send the message to Bahamians that the practices they use must be safe and legal when extracting marine resources," he said.

"They must observe the appropriate size; whether it's grouper, lobster or conch. We wish to discourage persons from cracking conch on the sea bed and leaving the shells behind. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it drives conch away from that area. This really has to be a multi-pronged approach."

Since 2008, successive governments have pledged to protect 20 per cent of the country's marine and coastal environment by 2020 to ensure long-term conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems.

Over the past two years the Bahamas Protected team conducted a national marine gap analysis to identify important areas for marine conservation. A draft list of 44 areas has been proposed to meet the country's 20 percent goal, as currently only ten percent of the country's marine environment is included in protected areas.