Bahamas Fishing Rules Adopted

[thoward]

Well the Bahamas have adopted the new rules and from the looks of it they outlawed cast nets and SPEAR fishing in totality. Yes, that includes the pole spear! In a nut shell the new PER BOAT regs are 6 pelagics, 20#(whole) of grouper/snapper and the like, 6 Lobsters and NO conch. All fish must have heads and tails attached! I have been in contact with Mr Loyd with the fisheries department about the issues liveaboards will have and he tells me you will be able to clean fish at the dock and freeze them but until you have it in writing it is a no-no. I hear they have started with the enforcement and a boat just lost over $18,000 in gear! Here are the regs......

AMENDMENT TO THE SPORTSFISHING REGULATIONS
Bahamas Information Services

01/12/2007

The Department of Marine Resources wishes to advise the general public that the several amendments to the Regulations governing sportsfishing have been made and that these changes came into force on 1st January, 2007. The amendments which have been made to Regulation 48 of the Fisheries Regulations (Ch. 244 – Subsidiary Legislation of The Bahamas – 2000) have the effect of curtailing the amount of marine resources which can legally be harvested by foreign boaters visiting the Bahamas.

The general public is informed that Regulation 48 now reads:

48. (1) In sportsfishing the following rules apply-

a. A person shall fish by the traditional method of angling with a hook or lure attached to a line held in the hand or attached to a pole, rod or reel;

b. A person, unless otherwise authorized by the respective permit, shall not use a spear, a fish trap, or a net other than a landing net;

c. Each vessel shall use not more than six (6) rods or reels unless the operator is in possession of a permit authorizing the use of more rods or reels;

d. Any migratory fishery resource that is caught shall not in total consist of more than six (6) Kingfish, Dolphin, Tuna or Wahoo per vessel and any resource not intended to be used shall not be injured unnecessarily but be returned to the sea alive;

e. No vessel shall have on board any conch, turtle or more than twenty pounds of any demersal fishery resources (groupers, snappers, etc.) per vessel at any time and excluding not more than six crawfish per vessel.

(2) The limitations specified in (1)(d) and (e) shall also apply to a Bahamian vessel engaged in fishing for purposes other than commercial by persons who are not Bahamians;

3.Subject to paragraph (1) no vessel shall have on board any fish unless its head and tail is intact.

The general public is advised that the Queen Conch (conch) is considered to be an endangered species throughout much of its range within the wider Caribbean area, including The Bahamas. The Government, in an effort to ensure the continued sustainability of local conch stocks, has decided to prohibit the harvesting of the species by foreign boaters.

The general public is further informed that the changes to the Sportsfishing Rules may be found in the Gazette SI 79 of 2006 dated 28 December 2006.

 

[thoward]

Wrong place, please move to sandbar.....

 

[Pascal]

between this and the $ 300 customs clearing fee, the bahamian government has been sending a clear message : boaters not welcome.

their country, their right. i havent' been there in 4 years.

 

[Boatsb]

I hate to play devils advocate but Randy is otherwise engaged.

They are being less welcoming to boaters but there has been plenty of boaters who would "rape and pillage" the resources because they could.

Protecting a fishery while not condeming a third world fishing fleet is not easy. We as sportfisherman do not make our living when we visit. Some charter boats do make their living there and I welcome their comments.

The Bahamas has some quaint areas and pristine reef and fishing grounds. if they allow anyone with a boat to take what they want there will be damage to the reef and loss of the fishery. Also some selfish boaters don't care that they damage the Bahamas it's not like its America or another real country to them.

I agree it seems to be getting expensive but look at it another way.

6 adults for 1 day in an american "park" will pay $400.00 / day plus inflated food and drink prices and will be corraled into areas deemed fit for them and even kept away from some of the niceset places in the area. This in the name of the great amreican theme park Disney. The Bahamas seem to be a bit lax in comparison.

 

[Genesis]

The only "gotcha" I see there that is going to change things for those not going over to rape the resource is the spearing prohibition.

And that was already 90% there anyway. The Bahamas have always prohibited spearing on scuba gear - you had to freedive. Well, few people are good enough to spear freediving, and a huge number of people CHEAT, actually spearing on scuba gear but claiming otherwise.

This just makes it simple - got a fish with a hole in it from a spear, you broke the law buddy. Buh-bye.

As for the rest I see nothing that impacts someone going over there to recreationally fish for their own consumption. If you're running a charter to there out of US waters, cry me a river - register with the authorities, pay their fees, and become a Bahamian vessel. Crying over the fact that you can't go into a foreign country to take their resource any more without paying their taxes and fees is kinda like us arguing that its "immoral" for Iran to refuse to sell us oil

 

[Boatsb]

I believe there was also the hawaiin sling issue for spearfishing and that was never easy to enforce either.

Too many bad people spoil it for the good ones.

 

[Pascal]

well, i don't fish so i coudln't care less about fishing rules... but tellling people they can't have fish filet in the fridge to cook later on that day seems a little silly to me... or it is sending a message.

i don't mind paying a reasonable fee to clear in... not $ 300. ever figured out how much the average boat brings in to the economy between slips, food, restaurants, etc... ?

 

[Genesis]

Well, the $300 fee is clearly outrageous and clearly designed to "send a message" - and it ain't "welcome with your nice small boats."

I don't like what they're doing either, but it IS their nation. My solution is to vote with my feet, and I suspect that organizing an economic action might get you somewhere with this. Clearly, if only the megarich (and megayachts) stop there any more - the guys who don't CARE about the $300 - they'll get the message right quick.

The fisheries stuff though I completely understand. The number of people who have said (in public, on forums on the net!) that they keep tanks on board, shoot the fish and then stash the tanks is substantial. There is definitely a problem with both charter operators and spearfishermen on scuba gear going into the Bahamian waters and raping the resource, and they got tired of it....... oh well, that's what happens when you abuse something!

Just wait until everyone on board needs a passport. THAT day isn't far off.....

 

[garyd]

Passports we don't need no stinking passports. OOPS if ya want to go and get back you do NOW! By the way they went up $100.00 each at the end of 2006. we got ours.

We are planning on going over to the Bahamas this year. We want to fish a lot. It is a family thing. When we get back to the dock we are going to filet our catch and eat what we want and freeze the rest to take home. When we get up to the 20lb limit to take home we will release the rest of the fish.

I'm not sure if this violates this new set of rules or not. If it does then it doesn't make sense. So maybe we won't go. When I called around to several of the main Bahamas abaco sites most were 95% open. It will be interesting to see if it starts filling up as time grows closer.

Have fun boating garyd

 

[Boatsb]

$300 per boat load of non citizens?????????????????????????

Dam we could pay off the defecit from florida alone

 

[Boatsb]

Texas is thinking of $75/car and 200/Van

 

[thoward]

We are planning on going over to the Bahamas this year. We want to fish a lot. It is a family thing. When we get back to the dock we are going to filet our catch and eat what we want and freeze the rest to take home. When we get up to the 20lb limit to take home we will release the rest of the fish.Have fun boating garyd

That is against the regs. That is the problem with the way they are. It says that any fish onboard must have head and tail attached. It is a 20 pound whole fish, not filets! You could offload the fish and clean them but you would be illegal on your trip home.

 

[Boss Lady]

between this and the $ 300 customs clearing fee, the bahamian government has been sending a clear message : boaters not welcome.

their country, their right. i havent' been there in 4 years.

Is the the cruising fee for a year, or for each visit?

 

[garyd]

Well that's what we are going to do. I believe we will be following their law. Somewhere along the line you have to clean the fish.

After we clean it we are not going to keep the head and tail. LOL

It sounds like to me that they are trying to determine that you only keep the correct fish limit. Ie x grouper x king x dolphin. Once that has been determined then I believe you can clean and prepare to eat it or freeze it.

If they search us that's what I'm going to explain to them. If they board us on our way back from a fishing trip we will be 100% legal as we will follow the rules to the letter. However once we get into port we are going to clean and either eat or freeze. Once we get to 20lbs we will stop freezing and only eat what we catch.


As I read it this is what it seems they are trying to accomplish. And to that end we will comply. No more no less.

Will ya come get me and the crew if they throw us in the brig?

If we get anywhere near the 20lb limit I'd be happy. Plus since we are planning on staying for at least three weeks in the bajammas mon I don't believe we will have enough room in the freezer to keep more than 20lbs anyway.

Have fun boating garyd

 

[Angela]

From the pamphlet I just picked up over the weekend:

Entry Fees: "...Boats up to 35', the fee is $150. Boats over 35' the fee is $300. This will cover a vessel with four persons or less. The flat levy per vessel will cover the cruising permit, fishing permit, Customs and Immigration charges, and the $15 per person departure tax for up to four persons. Each additional person above four will be charged $15 departure tax. This fee is good for up to two (2) trips within a 90-day period."

The Keys are looking much more attractive than Bimini.

Passport requirements went into effect 12/31/06. That doesn't bother me - I think everyone should have one anyway if you like to do any kind of traveling at all, especially last minute traveling.

 

[Spellbound]

Fisheries stuff is as Genesis stated OK and is in fact LONG and I mean VERY LONG overdue. I Have been witnessing the raping of Bahamian waters by both U.S. visitors and natives in various ways the past 20+ summers. Example (one of many) a nice group of guys from SC fishing the Exuma Sound last May would bring back to the dock each day 25 - 30 dolphin over an 8 day period. They kept every fish filling 4 huge igloos of fillets for the plane trip home. What a waste! Granted the smaller boats do take a hit and I agree shed no tear for the US charter operators of which there a quite a few down south in Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador.



IMHO $300 for a crusing permit enabling virtually unreported travel throughout THEIR islands is not a bad deal. Mexico, most of Cental America Atlantic and Pacific one must check in with proper authorities at every harbor/marina one pulls into. At $4.25/gallon the $300 crusing/fishing permit is not a major cost issue for traveling throughout the area. Just my opinions as I still find the Islands magical, unique and remote yet so close that it is possible to take ones own boat over to explore and enjoy.

 

[thoward]

I have no problem with the fact that they want to protect the fishery. It is the rules that do not make sense. I am not willing to loose $20k worth of fishing gear for a misunderstanding of the regs. Worse yet, this is aimed directly at US based boats. They did nothing to protect the fishery from the locals! We will still go as we were planning on 4-6 trips but that will be cut to 2 now.

garyd, here is the info for the head of the fishery. Ask for Mr. Loyd. I have informed him of the problems week long liveaboards will encounter and asked for clarification of the issues in writting.

Fisheries, Department of
East Bay Street
P. O. Box N 3028
Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas

(email) michaelbraynen@bahamas.gov.bs
phone 242 - 393-1777

 

[Pascal]

the fee was originally per trip, but after all the complaints when they implemented it they decided to allow a second trip in within 90 days...

$300 is not a bad deal if you go cruising for a month... that's true. but many south floridians would go just for the week end as Bimini is only 50nm from miami...

 

[garyd]

Called the bahama man and asked a few questions. I believe his name was Mr. Llyod. He said the reg's are new and they are still learning them etc.

I asked if we can fish in U.S. waters on the way over. He said any fish on board will be presummed caught in their waters so NO unless you have a valid Bahama fishing license.

He said the head and tail need to stay on until the catch is landed to dock. Then you can filet and eat and or freeze. The limit is total but also per day. So if you catch 6 lobsters eat them you can catch 6 the next day. If you have 20lbs of fish and consume 10 lbs you can catch another 10lbs to keep or freeze.

So the sticky wicket is this if there is no head and tail cause you fileted it what kind of fish is it? And if you have 20lbs of frozen filets can you catch what you can consume back at the dock.

It appears they are simply trying to stop the boatful of lobster, counch and peligecs from being harvested and immediatly sent back to the U.S.A. I believe a convoy of fishing/cruising boats will not be on their radar.

ANyway he said he would e-mail me with an answer once they figure it out. LOL

I'm sure there will also be some Bahamian business men that will take your filets blast freeze package and ship them back to the U.S.A. Then presumably since you no longer have any fish or lobster aboard you can reload and ship again the next day. I don't know if that would be worth the expense or if their customs/U.S. customs will allow it but a cottage industry is about to be born.

Have fun boating Garyd

 

[thoward]

He gave me the same "we are still figuring this out" BS. That is why I want it in writting from the fishery department. Next thing you know the Bahamian Navy will have a 60' Hatt to patrol their boarders .