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
Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration and Yamacraw MP Elsworth Johnson.
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Minister of Immigration Elsworth Johnson said the government has “taken a stand” on access to the fishing sector and while there are those who have criticized amendments to fisheries and immigration regulations as discriminatory, the Constitution allows the government to “legally discriminate”.
The Fisheries Act, 2020, which was passed in the Senate this week, prevents the foreign spouses of Bahamians from engaging in commercial fishing.
“This is not a matter of recent vintage,” Johnson told the media.
“The Constitution allows it. Persons can’t just come and decide they want to be an MP and you’re not a citizen or a senator or a police officer or any varied number of areas.
The Stena IceMAX drillship. (PHOTO: BPC VIDEO)
NASSAU, BAHAMAS If the government wanted to get out of the Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) deal for exploratory oil drilling in The Bahamas, it could, suggested Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday.
BPC has announced that it commenced the drilling of its exploratory oil well on Sunday with drilling expected to take 45 to 60 days to complete and with “the highest environmental and safety standard”.
During the PLP’s end-of-year press conference at the party’s headquarters, Davis was asked about accusations from the Free National Movement (FNM) that the Christie administration negotiated an oil deal that short-changed the Bahamian people.