EDITOR, The Tribune.
The discriminatory element within the Free National Movement (FNM) government’s Fisheries Bill, 2020 has caused somewhat of a brouhaha within its ranks, with East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham both expressing opposition to it.
On the other end of the spectrum, I would imagine that the group, The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), which lobbied the former Progressive Liberal Party administration under Mr. Perry Christie to repeal the policy of granting permits to alleged Dominican fishermen married to Bahamian women in 2012, is ecstatic.
For years, Bahamian fishermen have complained about the practice of what seemed like marriages of convenience, in which Dominican men engaged in the fishing sector are marrying Bahamian women. In many instances, these Dominicans can hardly count from one to ten in English, yet are able to say “I do” in perfect English before a Bahamian justice of the peace.