On the heels of some guides pushing for a ban on do-it-yourself bonefishing in the Bahamas, the country’s fly fishing trade association is calling for increased legislation to further protect the industry and cement it as a key part of Bahamian economics moving forward.
Prescott Smith, president of the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association (BFFIA) gave a lengthy interview to Natario McKenzie with Eyewitness News, detailing the issues he sees as most pressing for the guide industry in the Bahamas.
Smith’s main concern and push right now is focused on how much economic revenue the Bahamas are missing out on due to weak laws and holes in regulations that currently govern fly fishing throughout the country. Smith estimates the fly fishing industry in the Bahamas could add four to five billion per year, without stressing the resource.
Formal Guide Recognition
Smith started the process of organizing fly fishing in the Bahamas by pushing for legislation that recognized and legitimized the career of guiding. That ultimately came to fruition in 2017 with the passage of the Flats Fishing Act, according to McKenzie, which stipulated that if you wanted to guide in the Bahamas, you had to be a Bahamian citizen.
That legislation also introduced angler licenses, protecting bonefish, tarpon, snook, permit, and cobia from commercial harvest and sale, and carved out room for traditional cultural uses of the same flats anglers prowl for fishing.
Owning Resources
The Flats Fishing Act faced tremendous pushback and has seen numerous attempts to repeal it throughout the years. BFFIA has spent more time defending that initial legislation, rather than strengthening it, Smith says, which has ultimately put the country in the situation it faces now: a fight over owning the resources.
“The issue is not just about the fish,” Smith told McKenzie. “It’s about resources and who controls the resources.”
Specifically, Smith wants to see bans on foreign operators who run illegal businesses catering to fly fishing on the flats. Smith says foreign yachts will pull onto flats, with flats boats in tow, and a handful of foreign guides who will essentially run a floating fishing lodge. That’s illegal as it stands, Smith says, but it’s not enforced.
If the country fails to act to strengthen the laws and enforce current regulations, Smith warns that “there’ll be very little left of the Bahamas for Bahamian ownership.”