The Department of Marine Resources
wishes to advise the general public
that the several amendments to the Regulations
governing sportsfishing have been made
and that these changes came into force
on 1st January, 2007. The amendments
which have been made to Regulation 48
of the Fisheries Regulations have the
effect of curtailing the amount of marine
resources which can legally be harvested
by foreign boaters visiting the Bahamas.
The general public is informed that Regulation
48 now reads:
48. (1) In sportsfishing the following
rules apply-
a) A person shall fish by the traditional
method of angling with a hook or lure attached
to a line held in the hand or attached
to a pole, rod or reel;
b) A person, unless otherwise authorized
by the respective permit, shall not use
a spear, a fish trap, or a net other than
a landing net;
c) Each vessel shall use not more than
six (6) rods or reels unless the operator
is in possession of a permit authorizing
the use of more rods or reels;
d) Any migratory fishery resource that
is caught shall not in total consist of
more than six (6) Kingfish, Dolphin, Tuna
or Wahoo per vessel and any resource not
intended to be used shall not be injured
unnecessarily but be returned to the sea
alive;
e) No vessel shall have on board any conch,
turtle or more than twenty pounds of any
demersal fishery resources (groupers, snappers,
etc.) per vessel at any time and excluding
not more than six crawfish per vessel.
(2) The limitations specified in (1)(d)
and (e) shall also apply to a Bahamian
vessel engaged in fishing for purposes
other than commercial by persons who are
not Bahamians;
(3) Subject to paragraph (1) no vessel
shall have on board any fish unless its
head and tail is intact.
The general public is advised that the
Queen Conch (conch) is considered to be
an endangered species throughout much of
its range within the wider Caribbean area,
including The Bahamas. The Government,
in an effort to ensure the continued sustainability
of local conch stocks, has decided to prohibit
the harvesting of the species by foreign
boaters |
