A series of reported incidents of Florida Keys captains fishing Bahamian waters without the proper licenses and permits has prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to do more to educate American anglers on the boundary lines.
Coast Guard Sector Key West fisheries law enforcement and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement teams issued six Lacey Act violations in the past two years for not having a Bahamian fishing permit while fishing in Bahamian waters.
Last month, Islamorada recreational fisherman and restaurant owner Henry Danzig finalized a settlement agreement with federal prosecutors, which called for Danzig to purchase a roughly $200,000 new boat for the Bahama military as part of a plea agreement for illegally fishing that countryâs waters in May 2020.
“Seize vessels and they’ll get the message”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS Real estate guru Mario Carey, a businessman and diver, is facing an uphill slog to get everyone on board to stop the illegal harvesting of Bahamian conch, fish and crawfish.
“I’ve been diving for more than 35 years and two weeks ago I went from Yellow Banks (north Exuma) to Sayle Rock (Eleuthera) without seeing a single grouper, hog fish [or] Margaret fish; not a conch, nothing,” he said.
“Yes, dolphin, or mahi-mahi were running, but the fish that feed on coral not a one in six hours in the water.
by NEIL HARTNELL Bahamian fishermen have hailed the US prosecution of a Florida Keys man for illegally fishing in this nation’s waters as “monumental” in the fight to safeguard the industry’s sustainability and stocks.
#Industry participants told Tribune Business that the sentence imposed on Henry Danzig, ordering him to hand over a brand new boat to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) to aid with fisheries enforcement, will “send a strong message to go-fast fishermen out of Florida” and is something they “have been waiting” decades for.
#The case, brought as part of Operation Bahamarama, a joint effort between Bahamian and US law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal and unreported fishing in Bahamian waters, was described by local fishermen as the only way that this nation can “deter poaching of fisheries stocks on all fronts”.
Islamorada recreational fisherman and restaurant owner Henry Danzig has purchased a roughly $200,000 new boat for the Bahama military as part of a plea agreement for illegally fishing that countryâs waters in May 2020.
Danzig, who is part owner of the City Hall Cafe in Islamorada, was caught by the U.S. Coast Guard on his way back to Islamorada from illegally fishing a remote area of the Bahamas called Cay Sal Bank. Keys anglers fishing around Cay Sal Bank is not uncommon.
Danzig had to purchase a 2021 30-foot Contender center-console vessel with twin 250 horsepower engines as part of his plea agreement. The vessel will be used by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for law enforcement purposes such as patrols for looking people violating fishing rules.