Speaking in Nassau during a press conference on Wednesday 7 November upon their return from the Dominican Republic, Bahaman officials said that the bilateral talks between the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic on the issue of poaching had been successful.
“The visit can be described as generally successful. The purpose of the mission was to convey to the Dominican authorities the seriousness of the fishing issue to The Bahamas and to advise the authorities that The Bahamas would be taking stronger steps to stop poaching in our waters,” Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell said. Bahamas has announced it was investing US$200 million in equipment for the Royal Bahamas Defense Force to improve its patrols of bordering waters and that it would enact stronger laws to punish poachers. The Ministry seeks an amendment of the Fisheries Act for greater penalties, from US$5,000 to US$250,000 and 25 years imprisonment.
President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina pledged that this problem would be addressed, Minister Mitchell said. “He gave specific instructions to the naval forces in the Dominican Republic to begin a series of measures which the navy has predicted will result in a drastic decline in poaching in Bahamian waters,” Minister Mitchell said. “We are cautiously optimistic therefore that we will see some improvement in this area.
Furthermore, he announced two follow-up meetings, one being the Bahamas Government sending a mission to the Dominican Republic to follow-up on the draft proposals for a technical cooperation agreement to be signed between the two countries.
These draft proposals include signing onto the Food and Agricultural Organization’s Maritime Port Agreement that mandates countries to check the nature and source of product on board ships entering their ports. Additionally, there is to be a technical meeting between the defense forces of both countries within two weeks in Nassau.