A GROUP of Dominican fishermen have been apprehended by the Defence Force on suspicion of fisheries violations in Bahamian waters.
On Saturday afternoon, the crew of HMBS Nassau intercepted a 70-foot vessel 19 nautical miles south east of Cay Lobos, after being tipped off by local fishermen.
They found 50 Dominicans on board, as well as a quantity of scale-fish and crawfish.
The vessel, “RUBI 1” and her crew were taken into custody. Last night, they were being escorted by HMBS Nassau to Nassau, where the foreign fishermen will be turned over to the police.
HMBS Nassau is also bringing in 13 Cuban migrants apprehended in Bahamian waters by the United States Coast Guard.
Comments
jt 10 years, 4 months ago
Good job! More of this please. Tired of hearing of Bahamian fishermen calling the defence force over and over to no avail while our marine resources are pillaged.
bismark 10 years, 4 months ago
hats off to the hardworking marines who are never appreciated by the Bahamian public,these men and women work their backsides off,but they are never commended for their work,yes they have some challenges with resources,but I think they do a damn good job with the little they have,if successive govts will pump the money into the B.D.F like they do the police you will see greater results.keep up the good work marines.
incognito86 10 years, 4 months ago
bismark, I don't know what FANTASY WORLD you're living in but I literally had to laugh out loud when I read your comment. If you want to know how "hardworking" these "marines" are, perhaps you should go and party with them in Ragged Island where they barhop instead of patrolling the banks. Dozens of phone calls have been made to the RBDF, specific coordinates of Dominican vessels given, and IF the "marines" show up they either: 1) don't arrive until the Dominicans are long gone/days later; or 2) board and search the boat that filed the complaint and then once they're done, head in the opposite direction of the Dominicans. Go speak with the fishermen of Spanish Wells who have been shot at, harassed and held at gun point by Dominican fishermen in BAHAMIAN waters. These same fishermen have been told by Cabinet Ministers that their photos of poaching vessels were "ghost ships" or "I'm too busy to deal with that right now." To suggest that Government should pump more money into a flawed system is utter nonsense. SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE is getting paid off. What this country NEEDS is for international forces to patrol the waters. The same goes for every form of law enforcement in this country. The Bahamas is too small to handle the criminal element because "everybody knows everybody." I guess the "RUBI 1" will be used as a spectacle to fool the Bahamian public into thinking that something is actually being done out on the banks. Maybe they forgot to drop off the notorious "briefcase" full of money.
incognito86 10 years, 4 months ago
Perhaps I should clarify and should not have generalized ALL RBDF officers. I'm sure there are some that try doing their job to the best of their ability, but for the most part, the force is a debacle.
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