Nassau, The Bahamas:  A meeting of the newly appointed Fisheries Advisory Board was held on Monday, 28^th May, 2018.  The Fisheries Advisory Committee is co-chaired by the Acting Director of Marine Resources, Mr. Edison Deleveaux and Mr.  Mr. Keith Carroll, a member of the fishing community.

In attendance were, representatives from  the commercial fishing sector, members from various non-governmental organizations that are appointed to the Board and are involved in marine conservation, members of the seafood exporting sector, members for those governmental law enforcement agencies which have been appointed, and representatives from the Department of Marine Resources.

The role of the Board is to advise the Minister who has responsibility for fisheries matters on issues relating to the proper management of the commercial fishing sector and other related matters.

The Board discussed a number of issues affecting the sector, including the involvement of foreign nationals in the sector, especially those working on Bahamian owned commercial fishing vessels;  The Bahamas signing on to the WTO and its impact on the sector and the need for the use of air compressors by fishermen during the closed crawfish season.

The Board also reviewed the draft Fisheries Act, with the aim of fine tuning the legislation before submission for the Minister’s attention and onward submission for Parliamentary debate before coming into force.