The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE captain of “Angel Gabriel”, one of the Dominican vessels caught last week poaching in Bahamian waters, was yesterday sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.

Fourteen of his crew members who were found to be repeat offenders were also fined $30,000 each and sentenced to six months in prison.

On Wednesday, 44 members of the “Angel Gabriel” appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt charged with engaging in illegal foreign fishing and being in possession of 211 pounds of undersized Nassau grouper on September 17.

The prosecution said RBDF officers also discovered 2,154 pounds of crawfish, each measuring less than 3¼ inches, on board their vessel along with 13 spearguns and 14 dive compressors they alleged the fishermen had planned to use to fish.

The court heard last Thursday, the HMBS Lignum Vitae headed by Lieutenant James Cox, was conducting routine patrol near Great Bahama Bank. It was at this time that officers observed a suspected Dominican vessel sailing in Bahamian waters. The court was told that when the persons onboard the ship noticed the RBDF vessel, they began throwing fishing lines and jugs off the ship and into the water.

RBDF officers then proceeded towards a bridge on the vessel and boarded the ship. While conducting a search on board the vessel, they found several marine products, including stone crabs, fresh crawfish, scaled fish and Nassau grouper in the ship’s freezer. The court was told the RBDF officers also discovered a number of compressors that did not have permits, illegal spearguns, as well as an assortment of other dive equipment. As a result of their discovery, the vessel was detained and its passengers were loaded onto HMBS Lignum Vitae. They were then transported to the Coral Harbour base. Once on land, the ship’s captain and crew members were secured and handed over to members of the RBPF for further investigation.

During the arraignment, all of the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them. Their attorney, Keevon Maynard, told the magistrate the men were from a very “destitute” part of the Dominican Republic and lived in “rough” circumstances. He insisted the fishermen were sorry for committing a crime against the Bahamian people and said they understood the fishing industry was a treasure to the country.

In response, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt said the court found it “grievous” that the defendants were found with a large quantity of fishing products which they obtained by “raping” Bahamian waters. She said it was even more troublesome that some of the men were repeat offenders who had appeared before her for the same crime. She said this factor showed the fishermen had no respect for law and order.

As a result, she fined the captain, Robinson Cruz Silva, $35,000 and sentenced him to nine months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. If he fails to pay the fine, he will spend an additional eight months in custody. Fourteen of the crew members who had records of them being charged with the same offence within the Bahamian jurisdiction, were also fined $30,000 and sentenced to six months on remand. If they fail to pay the fine, they will also spend an additional eight months in prison. The remaining fishermen were given a $25,000 fine and warned not to poach in Bahamian waters again.

Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt also warned them that if they failed to pay their fine, they could risk spending six months behind bars. After sentencing the defendants, she told them that when they broke the rules they should expect to face the consequences.