Cartwright: Cabinet meeting for Mellor brothers unlikely

By Jimenita Swain ~ Guardian Senior Reporter

Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister Larry Cartwright has confirmed that it is unlikely two Grand Bahamian businessmen will get a meeting with Cabinet for a final pitch of their aquaculture project, which involves purse seine or net fishing.

The minister, who spoke to The Nassau Guardian in a recent interview, sought to clarify some issues raised by brothers Paul and David Mellor, who are claiming the government flip-flopped on the purse seining issue.

David and Paul Mellor are seeking approval for their net fishing operation and according to them, they were told last April that the practice is legal.

"The matter of controversy right now is not the aquaculture project. The matter is purse seine fishing for tuna," said Cartwright.

He admitted that there "was no legal impediment at that time, but pointed out that government has a right to change the laws whenever they see fit. And government has now decided to change the laws."

He added: "The plans that they submitted to us at that time was to start an aquaculture project in The Bahamas to rear tuna, blue fin and yellow fin tuna in a cage. They were advised to apply to Lands and Surveys for a lease of the seabed. If they had foreign input they were advised to make application to the investment board," said Cartwright.

The minister said he was told by the Mellors in a recent meeting that they had met with officials from those agencies.

"But the matter of buying a purse seining ship was never discussed in my office. I got an e-mail from (one of the Mellor brothers) sometime later in the year in 2009, indicating that he was in Italy to purchase a vessel. I learned later that it was a purse seining vessel with a net - a huge net," he said.

Minister Cartwright said even though less than a year ago the practice of net fishing was not illegal, an amendment will be made to the fisheries laws to outlaw the practice.

Government's position on the issue followed strong objections from environmental advocates and others who said the practice would cause untold destruction to marine life.

The ministry said in a recent statement that the method of fishing could result in the possible depletion or significant reduction of the fishing stocks in Bahamian waters.

"Having regard to the importance of sport fishing to the tourism industry, the government takes the position that purse seine or net fishing will not be permitted in The Bahamas," the ministry said.

"We were then and we are now supportive of a aquaculture projects in The Bahamas and that's what we are supportive of. We were never supportive of purse seining because that matter never arose. Our support was of aquaculture projects in The Bahamas and the proposal that we received was based on aquaculture. The building of cages, the leasing of the seabed and aquaculture," he stressed.

Paul Mellor told The Guardian that, "It looks like the minister has stuck to his guns. We're still conferring with him and trying to get some more explanations in regards to why he won't consider some sort of middle-of-the-road decision."

Mellor is hoping for answers on if a new law will be created that stops them from fishing, how long will it take to be implemented and what research has been done to base a decision on making purse seining or net fishing illegal.

He said he and his brother David Mellor have been granted fishing licenses, but have not begun any type of fishing.

"We are kind of waiting to see what happens next," he said.

They said they have invested about $2 million in the project.

Marine Minister expected to meet with Mellor brothers

By GENEA NOEL

Freeport News Reporter
Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Larry Cartwright is expected to meet with brothers Paul and David Mellor on their controversial plan to implement a Pelagic Aquaculture Tuna Fishing Program.

The Freeport News learned that discussions on the matter continued at the Cabinet Level yesterday and the government might be prepared to give further details on the issue after (officials) meet with the brothers today.

The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m but sources say that it could be moved back until later this afternoon.

Paul Mellor told The Freeport News yesterday that they plan to again discuss their aquaculture program with the minister and inquire on reasons why they were even given the green light in the first place.

"We plan to ask them why they granted us permission to go ahead and bring in our vessel and make investments here on the island and as soon as they got a bit of public pressure they went ahead and published a statement that they were going to stop this kind of fishing without even giving us a call," he said.

"More importantly we hope that we can sit down with them and come to some sort of middle ground the government, the fishermen and the conservationists will all be able to live with."

After an uproar of public objection on possibly allowing the Mellors to purse-seine yellowfin tuna, the government released a statement indicating that no permit would be given for purse- seine or net fishing within the waters of The Bahamas.It was also announced that the government intends to make amendments to the Fisheries Conservation (Jurisdiction and Conservation) Act and Regulations to that effect.

The Mellors have maintained that the government gave them permission to execute their plan. They produced a letter addressed to them from the director of marine resources Michael Braynen, dated April 17, 2009, which states that purse-seine nets are allowed in The Bahamas, as long as the mesh size is a minimum of two inches.

"I am not aware of any legal impediment to the use of such a fishing method by a Bahamian commercial fishing vessel to harvest tunas within the waters of The Bahamas or to the subsequent sale of such products within The Bahamas," the letter reads.

However, the letter also notes that aquaculture of any freshwater or marine organism is controlled by the Fisheries Resources Regulations and a permit is required.

"Consideration of applications for such permits requires the submission of detailed information with regard to the site where the operation is to be carried out, the physical facilities that will be constructed, the species, your source of supply, their diet, veterinary health requirement, the harvesting, processing and distribution and proposed markets of the end products and an evaluation of the potential environmental im-pacts for the proposed operations and any plans for the mitigation of any expected negative impacts."

In the letter, Braynen also notes that the circumstances do not allow a decision to be made on the matter at that time.

A copy of an e-mail from Braynen to the Mellors was also produced by them, in which Braynen writes, " As has been previously discussed with you, you do have the opportunity to target yellowfin tuna."

The Mellors said that the government was indeed informed every step of the way and encouraged them to move forward with creating a valuable new industry in The Bahamas.

(VIDEO) The Bahamas National Trust’s Tuna Net Fishing Town Meeting

Grand Bahama Island – The Bahamas Weekly is pleased to present herewith, video coverage of The Bahamas National Trust’s Tuna Net Fishing Town Meeting, which took place Monday March 1st 2010. The focus of this standing room only debate could arguably be described as the most heated topic surrounding the preservation of our marine heritage since long line fishing. The Bahamas Pelagic Aquaculture Tuna Fishing Program as proposed by David and Paul Mellor has sparked vigorous debate over the last couple of weeks.
The Mellors claim of sustainability and conservation in the harvest and farming of tuna in growing cages in the ocean is an emotionally charged topic throughout the international maritime community and was vigorously debated. This town meeting moderated by Dr. Pamela Etuk was much anticipated as both panelists and audience alike openly discussed the merits of purse seine netting and its ecological and economic affects on our tourism based archipelago nation. The audience included representatives from The Billfish Foundation, other Bahamian Aquaculture programs, marine biologists, sport fisherman, tour operators, taxi drivers, divers and a multitude of concerned citizens from various walks of life. Although the government has stated that they are not minded to permit the use of purse seine or net fishing within the waters of The Bahamas, the Mellors persist in presenting their unpopular venture even in the face of overwhelming global contempt. This dynamic video presentation has been divided into two parts. Part 1 is 54 minutes and Part 2 is 5 minutes and contains a contribution by Grand Bahamian Terry Pace.

The Billfish Foundation is pleased Bahamian government is responding in a positive manner

Town Meeting on tuna netting issues, at the BNT in Freeport , Monday, March 1st
  

 

Ft. LAUDERDALE, Fla. , USA -- The Billfish Foundation (TBF) is pleased the Bahamian government is taking a quick response in addressing the issue of whether to permit the use of purse seine netting gear in its waters.

The concern began mid-February when two brothers in Freeport on Grand Bahama Island , wanting to start a commercial Bahamian purse seine netting operation for yellowfin tuna, attempted to obtain permits to begin operating much to the frustration of conservation groups and sports fishing interests.

“The negative response from anglers, captains, mates, tournament directors and conservation associations was immediate and forceful,” said TBF president Ellen Peel.

TBF, a non-profit association for the conservation of billfish, sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Lawrence Cartwright, detailing the egregious error of permitting purse seiners to operate in their waters.

The purse seine style of net hangs vertically and employs rings at the bottom in which a rope is fed through. As the boat deploys the net wrapping it around a school of fish the rope is pulled closing the net, not allowing the targeted fish, nor the trapped billfish, mammals, sea turtles and other species to escape below, adding to overfishing.

“In response the Bahamian government issued a statement that it is ‘not minded’ to permit the use of the netting gear and in so doing acknowledged the economic importance of sportfishing to their tourism industry and the threat such net gear could render to their marine species.”

Peel added that the robust sportfishing tourism economy driven by the availability of marlin and sailfish in the Bahamian waters would collapse if there were no billfish to catch.

“The Bahamas took the lead in 1977 to ban longlining in its waters, many years before Florida banned nets, and it now boosts an outstanding marine ecosystem.

“Working together good conservation pays off economically and ecologically.”

Town Meeting in Freeport , Monday to address the netting issue

Though the minister issued his opposition statement to permitting netting, TBF has learned the government, through the Grand Bahamas Regional Committee of the Bahamas National Trust, will host a town meeting in Freeport to discuss the netting of tuna in its waters.

It will take place Monday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the BNT’s Rand Nature Center on E. Settlers Way.

For more information phone 242-352-5438.

Each individual wishing to speak will be allowed five minutes to present their information to the government representatives. For those who cannot attend the meeting they can send their comments to the Honorable Larry Cartwright, Minister of Agriculture & Marine Resources at Larrycartwright@bahamas.gov and copy to the Bahamas National Trust on their website at: www.bnt.bs/contact_us.php.

With its world headquarters based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. , The Billfish Foundation is the only non-profit organization dedicated solely to conserving and enhancing billfish populations worldwide. By coordinating efforts and speaking with one voice, the organization works for solutions that are good for billfish, not punitive to recreational anglers and good for the local economy. The TBF web site can be found at billfish.org and phone number is 800-438-8247

Agriculture/Marine Ministry must produce some answers

Freeport News
Freeport, Grand Bahama- The controversial "long net" issue just will not go away. It is the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources that now has to sort the matter out in the interest of fairplay to all parties concerned.

We make no defence here for David and Paul Mellor, the brothers who have invested in a fishing project, they claim will harvest and farm turna. They call their entity the Bahamas Pelagic Aquaculture Tuna Fishing Program.

While the ministry seems to be ducking and dodging, hoping to come out of this one looking at least adequate, some questions must be asked.

Did the director of marine resources in fact send an e-mail message to the Mellors informing them that they now "have the opportunity to target yellowfin tuna?

What exactly does "opportunity to target yellowfin tuna" mean?

Is that not in essence, permission?

Are the two young Bahamian brothers being frustrated in their upfront attempt to engage in an aspect of the fishing industry that could mean job opportunities for scores of persons and millions of dollars into a sagging economy?

Why were they not discouraged from the project by the ministry before making the investment of securing a vessel and equipment?

Could not the ministry provide officers to watch the proposed operation to ensure that (as promised by the Mellor brothers) no harm is done to the sea life?

Isn't this what the ministry is supposed to be doing in any event?

What's being done about the great poaching element that is reportedly milking the waters of The Bahamas "illegally" daily?

Those who are against a permit being officially granted to the Mellors present a good argument. It just does not seem possible for a mile radius of netting to be able to process exactly the fish sought, secure them and safely filter the others so that they could return to their habitat, without any harm being done.

This would be a monumental task indeed. But, the brothers say they can do it. They say the net is compartmentalized to do exactly that. Well, it seems then, that the ministry needs to step in with their officers who are employed to monitor such proceedings in the interest of the rules and regulations being kept at all times.

It's looking more and more like the ministry has dropped the ball on this one. It took a landslide amount of opposition for a statement denying the permit to be produced.

Now, the Mellors have in their posession, this interesting bit of communication.

Surely the ministry has some answers to give.

Minister Larry Cartwright, you're on the spot.

Your director, Braynen, must either deny the e-mail or explain it.

The next move is that of the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources.