The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE CRUISE industry was yesterday blasted as “bad actors” that engage in “tricks and subterfuge” rather than addressing their environmental impact and pollution incidents head on.

Karen Panton, executive director of the Bahamas Protected Areas Fund, used the Bahamas Business Outlook conference to call out the sector over its alleged past misdeeds and lack of accountability for it.

Describing the “depletion in environmental resources” as being of critical importance, with The Bahamas needing to avoid a “race to the bottom”, she added: “This is evidenced… by certain bad actors in the cruise industry that pollute our air, water and land by seeking to avoid responsibility for pollutants and high sulfur fuels.

Asserting that the cruise industry prefers to engage in “tricks and subterfuge rather than investments”, Ms Panton urged The Bahamas to do more to protect its marine environment. She added that this environmental degradation is made worse by “local fishers and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing creating a bigger tragedy”.

Ms Panton added: “Other externalities include periodic oil leaks from our utility companies, improper landfilling practices and plentiful excess emissions by internal combustion vehicles all consequences for human and environmental health.”