A group of men fish in the Caribbean. (FILE PHOTO)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Lawyers for a group of Bahamian women and their foreign husbands have filed a lawsuit against the government, claiming that the Fisheries Bill, 2020, is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The bill repeals the current Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Act, 1977, and prevents individuals who are not citizens of The Bahamas from engaging in commercial fishing.
An amendment to the Immigration Act further ensures that work permits are not granted for commercial fishing.
The originating summons, filed on January 8, is seeking a stay of implementation of the bill and amendment.
It is seeking an injunction, pending the determination of the action or until further order, to restrain the respondents from taking any action to prevent, impede, hinder or otherwise interfere with the work or business of the applicants included in the litigation.
Govt sued over Fisheries Bill
Fishermen, wives ask court to declare new law discriminatory Michael Pintard.
A group of foreign-born fishermen, their Bahamian spouses and commercial fishing enterprises have taken legal action against the government, claiming that the Fisheries Bill, 2020, which specifies that only Bahamian citizens are permitted to engage in commercial fishing in The Bahamas, is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The originating summons, filed on Friday, lists Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Michael Pintard, Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration Elsworth Johnson, and Attorney General Carl Bethel as respondents.
The applicants are Morazan Zunig Jackson and Jaime Reynaldo Perez, who are foreign spouses of Bahamian women; their wives, Maria Jackson and Raquel Anthonya Major-Perez; and a number of commercial fishing enterprises – Fish Farmers Ltd., Three Ro Bahamas Ltd., 3 Kids Corp Bahamas Ltd., Audley Seafood Ltd