The Tribune

• Dominicans effectively sentenced to one-month in prison

• No fines despite ramming Defence Force in escape bid

• ‘Disheartening’ verdict bad message to other offenders

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Fuming fishermen yesterday slammed a Supreme Court verdict, which effectively imposed just a one-month sentence on four Dominicans, as “a slap in the face” for those battling illegal poaching.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s (NFA) secretary, told Tribune Business the verdict was “unconscionable” and “disheartening” for both Bahamian fishermen and the authorities given that it means foreign poachers - who rammed a Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) vessel in their desperation to escape - will only have spent a total six months in prison.

While affirming that he has “the utmost respect” for the judiciary and legal system, he argued that the sentences - which imposed no fines - “send a message to poachers throughout the Caribbean and Latin America that The Bahamas does not take poaching seriously and you can get away with a very light sentence” if caught.

Disclosing that he had been present as an observer in Justice Bernard Turner’s court for the sentencing hearing, Mr Maillis said the outcome suggested that the tougher poaching fines/convictions brought into law by the Fisheries Act 2020 had been in vain.

Arguing that public resources, namely the country’s fisheries resources upon which thousands and livelihoods depend, deserve the same protection as private property, he added that it seemed as if foreign criminals received lighter sentences than Bahamians who committed similar offences.

And the NFA secretary said the most ironic aspect of the case was that it had been brought before the Supreme Court, as opposed to the Magistrate’s Court, amid the belief by prosecutors that this would result in harsher sentences being handed down.

Clay Sweeting, minister of agriculture, marine resources and Family Island affairs, told Tribune Business he was aware of the case and sentencing described by Mr Maillis and, as a former fisherman himself, understood the industry’s “frustration” over the sentences.

He added that he was liaising with the Attorney General’s Office, which was seeking to obtain the court docket to determine whether there were grounds to appeal and seek stronger sentences, and affirmed that the Davis administration is continuing to pursue a “no nonsense” approach to combating illegal poaching in Bahamian waters.

“I have been in touch with the Attorney General’s Office. I am aware of it,” Mr Sweeting said. “They are waiting on the court docket to see exactly what is in the docket report - what the charges were, and what the prosecution went ahead with - and then will determine whether or not to submit an appeal.

“I’m quite aware of their [fishing industry] frustration and, being a former fisherman, I understand their frustration.” He also agreed that one driving force behind the Fisheries Act’s introduction into law had been to impose heavier fines and sentences on foreign poachers caught stealing The Bahamas’ fishing stocks.

“The Government is serious about poaching and ensuring we have a no nonsense policy against poaching. That’s something we’ll continue to stand on. This government is serious about fighting it, so that poachers do not feel as if they can do what they want in our waters,” Mr Sweeting said.

“We’ve always been an advocate for that, and don’t see it changing any time soon. I will say that the Government is serious about fighting poaching, and the minister of national security is continuing with the policy put in place that Defence Force remains vigilant. They’ve done a good job in the past few years, and will continue to do so.”

Mr Sweeting praised the Defence Force last October for its actions in arresting the Dominican Republic nationals whose sentencing has caused controversy with the local industry. Five were apprehended after their vessel, Amanda, sought to evade capture by ramming HMBS Bahamas in waters near Diamond Point, Southern Great Bahama Bank.

Some 5,420 pounds of hogfish; 2,213 pounds of Nassau grouper; 11,267 pounds of whole lobster; 276 pounds of lobster tails; and 1,685 pounds of other assorted fish - all illegally harvested from Bahamian waters - was found aboard.

The poachers were also operating using a compressor and spearguns, in violation of Bahamian law, while suspected illegal narcotics were also found aboard the Amanda. A release at the time said the five were expected to be charged with six violations of the Fisheries Act, although one was said to have subsequently died while in prison.

That left four to be sentenced. Mr Maillis, who was present on the Association’s behalf at the February 24, 2022, hearing, said it appeared as if the judge gave significant weight to the fact none of those before him was the Amanda’s captain, who was said to have escaped capture by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF).

Describing the four Dominicans as having participated “in the most egregious form of illegal fishing”, Mr Maillis told Tribune Business: “We are very disappointed with the handling of this case. We are extremely disappointed in the way the judiciary continues to be lenient with poachers, and is not addressing the crisis.

“We hope the Attorney General’s Office will appeal these sentences, and this will be embraced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island affairs so that we get genuine justice for the Defence Force officers who were attacked, and we send a stronger signal to poachers.

“The main reason the Attorney General’s Office chose to pursue this case in the Supreme Court is that they believed the court would issue a stronger sentence than allowed in the Magistrate’s Court. The Supreme Court applied precedents from the Magistrate’s Court, and there was an even weaker sentence than was delivered before,” he continued.

“It doesn’t make any sense. It’s totally out of line, and the Association stands in utter disbelief. We expect to see a change moving forward. Our view is that the sentences were unconscionable. It was an extremely sad moment for the fishing community, the Defence Force, the Department of Public Prosecutions that the court decided this case with leniency.”

Offering to raise awareness of the poaching “crisis”, and its impact on The Bahamas’ natural resources and fishermen’s livelihoods, with the judiciary, Mr Maillis described the case as “one of many hundreds that we have had over the decades where poachers are caught, prosecuted and given light sentences. This particular sentence was very disheartening”.

He listed the clauses in the Fisheries Act, as well as the Penal Code, which he argued should have merited tougher sentences. The Act’s section 38, he said, provided for a $100,000 fine and “no more than three years in prison” for operating a foreign vessel with prohibited fishing equipment in Bahamian waters.

Similarly, sections 39 and 43 dealt with persons caught fishing illegally and removing fish illegally from Bahamian waters with $150,000 and $500,000 fines, respectively, and prison sentences of “no more” than three years and five years.

In addition, Mr Maillis suggested that the Dominicans had committed numerous breaches of the Penal Code including abetment of a crime; unlawful possession of animals; intentionally endangering a vessel and the lives of persons on that vessel (the Defence Force vessel); and deceit of a public officer for withholding the Amanda captain’s name. The Immigration Act was also likely breached.

The NFA secretary argued that the Dominicans knew where they were going and why they were coming to The Bahamas, adding: “It is unconscionable that they could not be charged with conspiracy or abetment of a crime....

“The Department of Marine Resources, with whom the NFA has been in communication, is also perplexed as to why these sentences are so light given the charges that were laid against these poachers.”

Arguing that the sentences will do nothing to punish those involved, and deter them and other poachers, Mr Maillis said: “They were able to get away without any financial loss to themselves.

“It sends a message to poachers in the Caribbean and Latin America that The Bahamas does not take poaching seriously, and they can get away with a very light sentence. In light of the crisis we’re going through, which caused the Fisheries Act to be put in place, the Marine Partnership to be put in place, it’s a slap in the face to all those entities.

“To see one of the highest courts in the land perpetuating the same problems that have plagued us for years is extremely demoralising, and is making all Bahamians question what the purpose of the law is if not to protect our citizens and resources,” he added.

“Why would a Bahamian commercial fisherman even report poaching if they know nothing happens to them, and they get to go free back home to their country while suffering no financial loss, and simply get to board another boat to come back to The Bahamas? There’s no cost to them.”

Mr Maillis said The Bahamas’ diplomatic efforts had made progress in securing help from the US and Cuba to crackdown on poaching by their citizens in this country’s waters, but it appeared to have made little progress in the Dominican Republic where powerful financial interests - likely with political connections - were behind the illegal fishing enterprise.

Arguing that the sentences handed down to the Dominicans paled against those meted out to Bahamians for similar crimes, he added that this nation needed to treat offences involving its natural resources with the same seriousness as it applied to private property.

Pointing out that the price of lobster is now $20, and there were “tens of thousands of pounds of lobster” on the Amanda, Mr Maillis said that while the “street value” of what it had caught was between $300,000 to $600,000 it was “still a small amount compared to the apprehensions of the past”.