Why should all work permit holders be punished for the acts of a handful of irresponsible fishermen?
Dear Sir,
The Department of the Environment has reported that 1,934 Nassau Grouper were taken over a ten-day period off of Little Cayman during the January 2002 spawning season.
This is 1,934 fish from a school of about 5,000 as reported by a R.E.E.F. survey. I wonder how many of those fishermen were on work permits. My guess is very few!
It is this ex-patriates belief that the newly approved fishing license law, should be rescinded and a closer look be taken at the issue.
To pay $1,000.00 per month for a fishing license is ludicrous.
Why should all work permit holders be punished for the acts of a handful of irresponsible fishermen, some of who are Caymanian.
I have seen lobsters being taken out of season from the marine park in front of my residence regularly. I'm quite sure it isn't work permit holders knocking on the back doors of West Bay homes selling out of season conch and lobster!
If the problem is small marine life destruction then why am I no longer free to deep-sea fish on a regular basis?
There are options available to the Cayman Islands for the protection and preservation of the marine life. For instance, in Ontario, Canada all residents aged 18-65 who chose to fish are required to purchase a yearly fishing license for $67.
A year non resident sport-fishing
license is sold for $58, a far cry from CI$12,000 per year.
Other options, which work elsewhere are fish size limitations
and catch quotas per day.
This way any fish under a prescribed size is released enabling it to mature and reproduce.
Quotas limit the number of fish individuals can take on any given day. Simple solutions, yes, these systems rely on the morals and ethics of the sportsmen they are aimed at.
Working together, fisherman and government agencies can promote healthy fish stocks, ensuring the proliferation of multiple species for years to come.
Charter fishing boats take more fish on most days than I could catch in a week of fishing. They should not be exempt from any licensing.
Would it not be more fair to license every boat in the Islands $100 per year for the right to fish?
Without proper licensing fines could be levied to the occupants of boats caught taking fish.
As for charter boats, their fees could be a little higher. Don't get me wrong, I understand the difficulties and expenses it takes to run a charter operation. However, successful operations do take plenty of fish.
Also affected by this new law are the people whose livelihood depends on my pastime.
I spend about $4,000 per year on fuel, bait, boat maintenance and fishing equipment.
I imagine the gents at R & R Marine and Kirk Marine will miss the ex-patriate business they will surely lose due to these proposed fishing license fee.
My fishing partner and closest friend is Caymanian. Our mutual love of the sport is what brought us together and has allowed me to meet a great many other Caymanians who share the same interest; people I may have never met otherwise.
Now, due to the restrictive nature of a licensing fee I have to sit on shore and watch the boats go by, apparently the price of being a second-class member of society.
I am not opposed to purchasing a fishing license, but $1,000 per month. No. $100 per month? No! $100 per year? Absolutely!
Laws of this nature truly frighten me. What could be next? Perhaps ex-patriates won't be allowed on Seven Mile Beach between 9am and 5pm or maybe a 10pm ex-patriate curfew will be put into effect.
God created this beautiful sea for all of us to enjoy, not a select few.
We should all take pauses to consider what is really happening here, for what is happening is wrong.
Brian Burns