R
11-15-2005, 09:41 AM
Good day,
I found this in the Bahama Journal.
It effects many of your local friends, so lets hope the Government acts on this.
Regards,
R.
Commercial Crawfishermen Plead For Help
Open Letter To The Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, Prime Minister and
The Hon. V. Alfred Gray, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government
Dear Sirs,
I am writing this to implore you to step in and help the Commercial Crawfishermen of The Bahamas.
We all know how all of The Bahamas have suffered from last years Hurricanes, but for the fishermen it has been even more devastating. Besides the damage to homes, and property that many Bahamians endured most, of the Crawfishermen lost all of their traps, and were not able to fish for much of last years season.
As this new season progresses these men now have less traps to work, dangerous weather to contend with again this year, less Crawfish, and on top of all of this many foreign boats working their traps, and competing for the Crawfish your people need to feed their families.
It has reached the point where non Bahamian boats coming across from Florida outnumber the Bahamian boats, and take much of the Crawfish before Bahamians have a chance to work the areas. This leaves nothing for your own countrymen who are out working to feed, and house their families.
The second edge to this sword is that if nothing is done to stop this the whole Crawfish population will be decimated, and there will be none left for anyone.
I understand that the Government must consider tourism along with fisheries but if The Bahamian fish stocks are destroyed The Bahamas will have neither fisheries, nor tourism.
I ask that you curtail the taking of Crawfish by all non-Bahamian boats. This will give Bahamians a chance to continue the way of life that is so much a part of Bahamian culture and allow the stocks to replenish with less pressure...
Tourists do come for the Crawfish, but they will still come if you protect the Crawfish stocks, because for now The Bahamas still have too much to offer, please act to preserve this.
If you are concerned that tourists would not come if they cannot take Crawfish, then they surely wouldn't come if they can't even find one to buy.
Sir, if something is not done soon the damage will be too great, and there will be no way to repair what has been done - the Crawfish will be gone.
Only The Lord can control the weather, but you can act to protect your people, the environment, and one of the oldest ways of life in The Bahamas by stepping in now.
Please act now to preserve your country and the future for the children of The Bahamas.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Kevin Gray
I found this in the Bahama Journal.
It effects many of your local friends, so lets hope the Government acts on this.
Regards,
R.
Commercial Crawfishermen Plead For Help
Open Letter To The Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, Prime Minister and
The Hon. V. Alfred Gray, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government
Dear Sirs,
I am writing this to implore you to step in and help the Commercial Crawfishermen of The Bahamas.
We all know how all of The Bahamas have suffered from last years Hurricanes, but for the fishermen it has been even more devastating. Besides the damage to homes, and property that many Bahamians endured most, of the Crawfishermen lost all of their traps, and were not able to fish for much of last years season.
As this new season progresses these men now have less traps to work, dangerous weather to contend with again this year, less Crawfish, and on top of all of this many foreign boats working their traps, and competing for the Crawfish your people need to feed their families.
It has reached the point where non Bahamian boats coming across from Florida outnumber the Bahamian boats, and take much of the Crawfish before Bahamians have a chance to work the areas. This leaves nothing for your own countrymen who are out working to feed, and house their families.
The second edge to this sword is that if nothing is done to stop this the whole Crawfish population will be decimated, and there will be none left for anyone.
I understand that the Government must consider tourism along with fisheries but if The Bahamian fish stocks are destroyed The Bahamas will have neither fisheries, nor tourism.
I ask that you curtail the taking of Crawfish by all non-Bahamian boats. This will give Bahamians a chance to continue the way of life that is so much a part of Bahamian culture and allow the stocks to replenish with less pressure...
Tourists do come for the Crawfish, but they will still come if you protect the Crawfish stocks, because for now The Bahamas still have too much to offer, please act to preserve this.
If you are concerned that tourists would not come if they cannot take Crawfish, then they surely wouldn't come if they can't even find one to buy.
Sir, if something is not done soon the damage will be too great, and there will be no way to repair what has been done - the Crawfish will be gone.
Only The Lord can control the weather, but you can act to protect your people, the environment, and one of the oldest ways of life in The Bahamas by stepping in now.
Please act now to preserve your country and the future for the children of The Bahamas.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Kevin Gray