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A BAHAMIAN seafood businessman fears the government’s new Fisheries Bill will hamper his business and lead to a loss of critical staff.
Meanwhile, Bahamian women married to foreign fishermen are also enraged at the bill, which they say disenfranchises their spouses and will put a financial strain on their households.
The Fisheries Bill 2020, which will replace the Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Act, 1977, was passed in the Senate yesterday.
A key provision of the bill says: “No person shall engage in fishing, or be employed on a commercial fishing vessel for fishing other than sport fishing in the fisheries waters; and use or be employed on a commercial fishing vessel licenced under this act for fishing other than charter sport fishing, unless that person is a citizen of The Bahamas.”