The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I write in response to the fatal shark attack of a female American tourist in waters off Green Cay, also as a descendant of Lowe Sound, Andros, Bahamas.

While growing up in this small farming-fishing community, nestled by the sea...as children and all of the various residents were family.

Much of our time was spent among school life, tending the fields, fishing and boat building. It was also customary for us to pursue sharks that would come in near the shores and these were of all sizes and breeds. The weapons for defending ourselves were homemade wooden poles and a length of 1/4 inch steel that was bent to form the pickup-end-of-a-fork...four holes were placed at intervals on the pole and the temper steel-rod was threaded through the last holes on the staff and then bent the width of the pole. To fasten the rod in place we either used carpentry nails to fasten it, or strips of electrical wires secured it...the ends of steel rods were sharpened-to desired point, and each rod received a beard cut out into the steel that had the affect to hold the catch inplace...final product a pick fork-like-contraption.

Usually, we went out in search of the sharks by the threesome, and each of us had the spear like contraption. As we were confronted by these things there was always a lookout man standing by...we successfully hunted those animals, but what I noticed even after we were able to have them flee capture by us...there was a point that they almost/always turned back and headed directly for our legs...and how did we countered the attacks? Two of us pulled ourselves up onto the staff or spear like contraption...while the lookout man-sought to spear the attackers...we always had a third pair of eyes.(what am I saying?).

As far as the attack goes and that was not the only fatality by sharks in that area... not very long ago another American lost her life-under-same condition, except that it was speculated that she had gone into the water, during her monthly, which drew the attention-of-the-shark... .but if that were the case, how about this one... a middle-aged woman...so that scenario has been blown out of the water and dismissed as guess work.

Now what I will say about the attack, that if the boat operator had been a Bahamian (knowledge-of-our-waters-and-how-and-where-to-set-up-as lookout), that attack would have potentially been different... they would have seen the shark closing in, but that shark would have been pleasantly surprised that it would not have been able to carry out that attack, period.

Family Islanders are not fearful of sharks... we know the recipe-in-dealing-with-them.

Finally, editor, I don’t like her precautions & protocols are not given the level of seriousness-required-to-ensure the safety of visitors... I know that it sounds horrible but it is true. Another point, I had an occasion to visit Prince George Dock and at the time (this was about six years ago...and what drew my attention there was a Ferry Boat filled to capacity with tourists...but none donned life vests...and when I enquired? I was told that the life vests were under the benches-aboard...

Okay, but in an emergency, how much time will they be given to prepare? The place where the boat had to sail...and those strong counter-cross counter-ocean-currents happening between Prince George Dock & Paradise Island, is problematic? The same body of water that that Ferryboat had to traverse - overloaded.

Editor, here is a reminder: do you remember when Sir Arlington Butler somehow missed the road and drove overboard... he recounted when asked by a reporter about it... said if he had not been a strong swimmer, he would have perished...and we, Bahamians who knew Sir Arlington Butler (former Speaker of House of Assembly), and knew that he was of powerful structure, etc?

Well, I wrote the powers that be-then, but that that the solution was a practical one (what garbage).

We in this country don’t appear to take safety seriously enough, to enforce regulations daily no matter who... and not until-something- happens, that we say any manner of things and even go to the extent of pointing finger & often in the wrong direction.

Operators of these sea crafts must be aware of regulations and adhere to them... even when no one’s looking, it is terribly lacking.

But all boats within the waters of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas come under the Port Department & The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), and therefore, they would need the transport vehicles (sufficiently so), to be adequately policed, the territorial waters of the country, and where infractions were observed to be able to on the spot issue citations, etc? I just hope that this time, be the last time that a shark able to attack a visitor and with so many staff from the Boat Charter Company on hand?

No matter what briefing those visitors were given...don’t tell them that there might be sharks and here is how to behave if you see one? Yeah right, I am in your Country, in your care and have paid money to explore the wonders below, impossible/perhaps unfair to expect me to also be vigilant to those extremes? And what protection have they/you had to secure your clients/customers?

I hope to see negligence fees & hefty fines paid...and also revocation of licence... that boat company is not Bahamian... how did he/they get that licence...when that kind of business was expressly reserved for Bahamians?

And now just maybe-these exploitation of Bahamian Tourists Trades-will be examined by authorities and cancellations exacted, etc?

Thank you, Editor, and for I know that you will be receiving many articles on the subject... a matter Bahamians hold dear to their hearts-our-tourists’ welfare, etc?

Submitted with love and for what it is worth, amen.

FRANK GILBERT

Nassau,

September 8, 2022.