From Gink & Gasoline today… a really well done piece. This is what it looks like when a journalist gets a hold of an issue like this.

The story.

The clan in Grand Bahama in 2013

“The draft bill and accompanying regulations are not an effort to stifle, prevent or prohibit any category of anglers from fly fishing within the Islands Of the Bahamas, or to restrict international investor participation in the sector.”

So says a Ministry of Tourism press release.

This thing might not have the legs it needs to get through the cabinet. In fact, there seems to be a swelling of internal opposition to the proposals as people wake up to the realities and potential economic pitfalls.

So… we might be able to, in not too long, collectively breath a sigh of relief. Maybe. Depending. At least, well, there’s a good chance. (How many outs can I give myself in one paragraph?)

Underlying what might, just might, be the successful offing of the horribly thought out and disastrously presented proposals, there may be a few issues we need to discuss and consider.

The bill’s popularity with some is grounded in the stark realities they are facing. Consider the bill would have provided duty exemptions for guides for items such as boats, trucks, fly rods and reels, etc.. That would help guides get better, newer gear to grow their businesses for something closer to market rates instead of the hugely inflated costs once you add transportation AND duty costs.

The move to effectively ban most DIY was popular with many guides and they had their reasons. We might do well to examine what those reasons are. Maybe things have become a bit too easy on the DIY front. Maybe not everyone who heads out to one of the Out Islands acts like a perfect gentleman. Maybe we need to think about how we can help the Bahamians to better promote themselves and their services.

The ban on mother ships, ban on foreign guides and the introduction of a reasonably priced and easy to obtain fishing license were all widely supported elements of the proposal. If just those bits survived, they would be welcomed by the vast majority (assuming the money went towards conservation or preserving the fisheries).

If this thing does die, and let’s hope it does, we may need to think about what other elements need to be resurrected, changed, and re-proposed.

Those proposals almost certainly can’t come from the current leadership of the BFFIA, who have lost international respect and proven to be the most divisive of leaders. Even if you are for the proposals, you have to think the presentation and roll-out has been nothing short of a disaster and if you don’t know whose feet to lay that disaster at, you are willfully blind.

So, let’s keep up the pressure. Let’s let the other stakeholders know how we feel and let’s try to do a little introspection of our own and see what has merit, what doesn’t, and what we can do to make our impact a little softer on those who have felt wronged by the current state of affairs.

Andros South in the morning.

Happy in the Bahamas

For my day job I often find myself at medical conferences listening to doctors (I’m not one) give presentations. Before a doctor gets on stage and tells you about their research or case report they first give you their disclosures. They let everyone know up front if they’ve taken money from the drug company or if they have a private lab engaged in research or selling competitive services. They want to let people know their possible biases before they start so the information that follows can be assessed in context.

Here are my disclosures. I am not a guide (I guided for trout in Northern California for one season in my early 20’s). I am not a lodge owner, or part owner. I don’t own land in the Bahamas. I don’t own a boat in the Bahamas. I do know some Bahamian guides and some Bahamian and American lodge owners. I’ve fished out of both. The Bahamas has only been a travel destination for me for about 5 years. I was kind-of-almost working for a booking agent for a hot minute when I was between jobs two years ago, but I didn’t end up actually working there and never made a dime off of the work.

Mainly what I have invested in the Bahamas is interest and dreams. The Bahamas are one of my favorite destinations and I have chosen the Bahamas for family vacations, two lodge-based trips and a couple DIY/Guided trips, all in the last five years. I figure I and my family have spent around $20,000 in the Bahamas over that time. I have been to and fished out of Grand Bahamas, Andros, Abaco and Long Islands.

My interest far outweighs my experience and that interest has led me to talk to a lot of people about the Bahamas and to read about the Bahamas to make up for my lack of physical presence. I’ve done interviews and shared stories about the Bahamas consistently for the past five years as well. Ever since the blog was launched, I’ve been talking about and sharing stories about the Bahamas.

My first bonefish came from the East End of Grand Bahama with an independent guide.

In short, I have no “skin in the game.” If the proposed regulations pass I stand to gain nothing financially. If they don’t pass I stand to gain nothing financially.

If they do pass, what I lose are some dreams, maybe a bit of my muse would be snuffed out. I’d lose a family vacation spot and a bit of happiness. That’s all.

My rather strong voice of alarm and concern stems from my worries about what these regulations will do to the Bahamas and to their people. I see economic hard times if these pass. It could be that I also see a loss of something I love as well, a loss of freedom and a loss of choice.

Now you know my biases and where I come from and can put what I have to say in context.

A Grand Bahama Sunset

I’m struggling at the moment to figure out where to go from here. It feels like the battle lines are drawn and minds are made up among the guide community and there is a pretty good delineation between the “For” and “Against” camps. It is also looking more and more likely the “For” camp has been laying the groundwork for this for some time. We “Againsts” are late to the party.

One problem we are going to run into is people don’t usually change their minds. I listened to a great episode of This American Life called “The Incredible Rarity of Changing Your Mind.” It was an interesting story and confirmed something we all know deep down, people usually don’t change their minds. That means all those Facebook arguments haven’t moved the needle one bit. Politicians have almost stopped trying to change the minds of those who disagree with them. Instead, they just rally their supporters, turning them into SUPER SUPPORTERS and since politics is very much a Zero Sum Game, those in the opposition turn into SUPER ENEMIES.

We’d probably all be better off if things weren’t between SUPER SUPPORTERS and SUPER ENEMIES. I’m trying to keep an open mind and to listen to other points of view. Sometimes I even succeed.

At this point there doesn’t seem to be a second draft getting circulated. As I understand it, the actual legislation will be written by the Attorney General’s Office and then it goes to the Cabinet. I’ve heard it doesn’t stand a great chance of making it out of the Cabinet (others might see the economic downside a little more clearly at the Cabinet level), but when you have a country of 377,000, you can’t be sure of anything. Throw in a good dose of nationalism and things tend toward unpredictable.

I’ll try to keep you posted on what I’m hearing.

I read this story on the Tribune242.com website. It is full of so much misinformation, I felt like I’d take it on point by point.

By NATARIO McKENZIE
#Tribune Business Reporter
#nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Can Be ‘Global Pacesetter’ Over Fishing

THE Bahamas has an opportunity to become a “global pacesetter” in fisheries protection and preservation under proposed regulations to govern the fly fishing industry, the sector’s association president said yesterday.

Let’s be clear… there is very, very little about conservation or preservation in the proposals. What is there is undefined and sloppy. Look at the suggestions of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust… a conservation organization who knows what they are doing. If these folks were really interested in conservation, they would come with a science-forward approach. What is in the proposals is about business, not about conservation. It is being wrapped up in conservation, but it just isn’t there.

#Industry stakeholders participated in what was expected to be the last consultation on the regulations, which have been a source of heated debate among them over the past several weeks.

#The Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, V. Alfred Gray, said he was “disturbed” by correspondence exchanged between  several industry stakeholders regarding the proposed regulations, stressing he would “rather lose one visitor than lose an entire country”.

Several saying come to mind… don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face… there are probably others. The chorus of shock, warning and alarm has been deafening. People who love the Bahamas deeply and who are responsible for a lot of tourists coming to the Bahamas have warned this is a bad, bad deal for the Bahamas and could destroy the industry. So, Minister Gray may well get his wish many times over. I’m guessing there’s no economic impact study for these proposals, because there is no way they turn out well for the Bahamas as a whole. 

#While acknowledging the remaining divisions within the industry, Prescott Smith, the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association’s (BFFIA) president, said yesterday’s consultation helped bring more clarity to the situation.

#“A lot of positions were clarified. There is a lot of misinformation out there. I think people are clear that the legislation is something that is necessary in everyone’s interest, and not just special interests” Mr Smith told Tribune Business following the meeting yesterday.

It is very much clear this legislation is NOT in everyone’s interest, but is, instead, thought to be in the interest of a handful (ironically, it probably isn’t really in their interest either). This comment by Prescott flies directly in the face of reality. What about guest house/motel owners? What about shops and restaurants? What about rental car outfits? All those people stand to lose clients and money. What about the independent guides who pick up a day or two on an angler’s DIY trip (and this is a very common occurrence)? Those guides will lose days. This line of Prescott’s defies logic as it is exactly what the legislation would do and the whole world can see it as clear as day. 

#“You can’t just think about laws to protect one’s individual business to the detriment of everyone else. The key issues in terms of the Association being the governing body that is recognised nationally, and also the whole issue of what they refer to as ‘do it yourself’ (DIY) anglers, while no one is opposed to it, it was noted that you have to take into consideration certain islands because of their geography and their limited flats in comparison to other islands.

The hostility toward DIY anglers is well known at this point. Check out Page 5. An incident was brought up at the most recent meeting and the guide who had run off a DIY angler was proud of his behavior and he was not reprimanded by the head of the Association, nor the Minister for Fisheries. Again, the comment by Prescott is ironic because the laws are seen as benefiting several businesses at the expense of others.

Also, the association is not recognized by all, not even in the Bahamas. The last election (just a couple weeks ago) was, by most accounts, a farce. Look at my questions to Shawn Leadon in the comments of this post. These are unanswered questions and the silence speaks volumes. 

#“You will destroy the fisheries if people can just go out on the flats and fish as they please. Those islands that need special consideration are Acklins, Long Island, Eleuthera, Cat Island and Exuma,” added Mr Smith.

“Destroy” is a pretty wild claim. How many times does a DIY angler even get the tides right? How far can they run if they aren’t into fish? How many fish a day do you think they are catching on average? Where is the study showing this kind of destructive impact? I’ll tell you where the studies are… in Prescott’s head. They don’t exist, nor can they, because this kind of destructive impact is nearly impossible to have when you are talking about catch and release with well intentioned and informed anglers. A bigger impact on the flats would be the illegal netting taking place on Long Island. An angler may be responsible for one or two bonefish deaths, but a net is responsible for every bonefish it touches. 

#“The whole issue with fishing licenses, I think people understand the importance of a percentage of it going back into the resource. I feel that the Association should get a considerable portion of it because of the task of training new guides, educational programmes in the school, restoration of creeks, improving the marine environment and lots of education for guides, anglers and the general Bahamian population as well, and bringing to light the fact that the industry is so much more than the guides and the lodges.”

Well, look at that… Prescott thinks the fees should come back to the BFFIA, the organization he’s the President of. Wild, eh? It’s not going to scientists or conservation organizations. It’s going to the head of the association he runs. That doesn’t sound like self-dealing at all, does it?

#The Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) (Amendment) Bill 2015, and the Fisheries Resources (Jurisdiction and Conservation) (Flats Fishing) Regulations 2015, introduce a number of changes designed to create a supervisory framework for flats fishing in the Bahamas.

#This involves a set of new permit fees and stricter distinctions for foreign fishermen and foreign-­owned bone fishing lodges. Concerns over the new regulations centre on the proposed requirement that all visiting fly fishermen, even experts coming to the Bahamas for decades, hire a local guide at a cost of $600 per day.

#While sensitive to the need to protect Bahamian fishing guides from foreigners who come in and establish themselves in business illegally, the tourism sector is concerned that the ‘local guide stipulation’ and other proposed fees will make this nation further uncompetitive on price and encourage anglers to head to rival destinations.

There is only one lodge I have heard of who uses foreign guides. The Flamingo Cay Club uses, so I’m told, American guides (I talked to one American guide who worked there in fact). I know of no other lodge or operation using American or foreign guides. So, this is a non-issue and not something that people concerned about. The “local guide stipulation” is not what people are upset about. A requirement that all anglers use a guide certainly is a concern. A second home owner with their own boat would not be able to go and fish by themselves. Minister Grey said that even a permanent resident would not be able to fish on their own. If I come to Treasure Cay for Spring Break with my family (as I did this last year) I wouldn’t be able to head out for a few hours on my own while my kids nap? This is the sort of thing that has people up in arms. 

#    “The Bahamas can be a global pacesetter because the only country that has made close to the decisions that the Bahamas is embarking on now is Belize,” Mr Smith said.

#“They don’t even have one twentieth of our resources. By us taking this initiative you are protecting the nursery system for the entire Caribbean. The Bahamas has not only the largest flats in the world but the largest concentration of mangroves in the entire western world, which means that the marine life breeding here is  replenishing so many countries around the Caribbean.

First off, the rules set up in Belize are about making Bonefish, Permit and Tarpon catch & release species and outlaws most netting. Their laws say nothing about banning DIY angling. Florida passed rules, rather recently, banning the killing of bonefish and clamping down on how tarpon can be fished for and handled. These rules are enforced as well. Florida now has more strict rules around zoning and development to try and fix some of the damage they did earlier, damage that largely hasn’t yet happened in the Bahamas, but certainly could without enforced rules on dredging and sewage treatment. So, this claim to be a pacesetter rings hollow. The proposed laws would make the Bahamas a leader though, a leader in enacting anti-foreigner, restrictive fishing regulations. So, maybe that’s the pacesetting he’s looking to do. A quick internet search shows that the Bahamas is not setting the pace on conservation, nor would this legislation move in that direction. 

Secondly, it is true that the Bahamas has more habitat than the rest of the Caribbean. That, however, seems to conflict with the idea Prescott posed earlier that a few DIY anglers could bring the fishery low. How are both things true? How can you have the largest mangrove system in the world on one hand, and then claim that a catch and release anglers can destroy the whole fishery? Really, you can’t, but it also isn’t about protecting the fishery, it is about trying to ensure the money goes into the pockets you want it to go into. 

#“This legislation goes a long way to say you’re thinking sustainability and preservation and sustainability,” said Mr Smith. “The BFFIA must now move swiftly in terms of the various certification manuals that need to be fine tuned.”

The legislation goes a long way to sinking what’s left of the Bahamian economy. I hear, daily, from people who say they won’t go back if this goes through. They won’t go for the family vacation where they want to get out for a bit of fishing on their own, maybe grab a day with a guide as well. They won’t go back for the week long lodge trip because they don’t like the stink this legislation has all over it of greed and the big F-U to Americans (and non-yanks too). Certification manuals are the least of your worries. It amazes me that someone could come up with this sort of legislation to implode a $141M a year industry with no understanding of the potential impacts, no study on the impacts and so little care given to the goose that lays the golden egg. It might not be criminal, but it should be. Is this what the Bahamas needs in the aftermath of Baha Mar? Clearly not. 

In the space since the last meeting in the Bahamas, and in light of all the negative press the proposed fishing regulations have brought, I find it amazing that the head of the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association has shown a total lack of introspection. Instead of listening to the chorus of alarm, he (Prescott Smith) seems intent on finding someone to blame. One target of his blame is Bonefish on the Brain (hey, that’s me!).

Finally with the AGM Elections behind us and we are now able to investigate and show who the individuals were behind the scenes, for their own selfish agendas, who brought the negative PR on The Bahamas. I have colored coded the different emails, so you can clearly see the key persons, behind the scenes, who were primarily responsible for the negative propaganda smear campaign in the last couple months. Also, as you follow the trail of persons who are copied in on the first emails by… (Name removed by me), …the Vice President of The Abaco Fly Fishing Guides Association, where  you will see it leads to the Bloggers, like Bjorn Stromsness, Don Causey, and others going wild out there with all the misinformation and destructive things about The Bahamas.

They even took it further and began personal attacks on myself, Shawn Leadon, Denward Rankine and other Board Members because we support the Government in protecting and regulating the fly fishing industry in the best interest of the Bahamas and guides. Bloggers took it to the next level and requested Anglers to boycott our businesses. Click on this link to see for yourselves:  https://bonefishonthebrain.com/hope/

It is hoped that we can now put these malicious acts and propaganda behind us and focus on truly empowering and protecting Bahamians  and other Stakeholders connected in the Industry so that the Government can produce a phenomenal piece of legislation we can all be proud of

Prescott Smith

I’ll remind everyone that the Abaco Fly Fishing Guide’s Association is the group who came up with some great suggestions when it came to the proposed regs. You can see their recommendations here. If you want to find a group reacting in a positive way to what is going on, you need look no further than the Abaco Fly Fishing Guide’s Association and their leader Justin Sands.

The only things I’ve seen come out of Pescott seem to be a doubling down. He does not appear to grasp that there is not an organized campaign out to get him or to destroy the fishing industry in the Bahamas (as it would appear he beleives), but that the chorus of opposition was brought about by his own actions, by the language in the proposed regulations.  I haven’t seen anything come out of Prescott that indicates he gets any of the uproar as being brought about by his own actions. There is always someone else to blame.

Here is one of Prescott’s points and then you can read a rather on-point comment from Orvis and you tell me who is issuing propoganda and who seems reasonable.

8)  Designated Areas for Anglers with a Fishing License to fish without the assistance of a Certified Guide. (At their own risk and accepting full liability of the potential dangers without a Certified Guide because of the frequent visits to the flats by Bull Sharks, Hammer Head Sharks and Tiger Sharks, and drowning by some unknown health issue (Stroke, Heart Attack, Cramp….)  These designated areas must be assigned with consultation with the Local Guides  on each island because of their unique geography.

Here’s from Orvis:

“The criteria for a permit should be concise and consistent across the resource. There should be national unrestricted access with no room on the local level to prohibit access to flats or a license,” the company added.

“As it is currently written, the legislation suggests that guides, lodge operators and local administrators would be in the position to ‘independently govern a region’, impose conditions, restrictions or limitations for a permit as they deem appropriate.

“This allows too much room for restrictions subject to the whims of the individual grantor, especially if a guide simply doesn’t want an angler to fish in a certain area.”

Here is the link to the story with the Orvis point of view.

Prescott’s view is that we are all going to be eaten by sharks (you have a better chance of being killed by a falling coconut than being eaten by a shark) and that each guide on each island will get to map out a 10×10 box for you to DIY fish to your heart’s content. Orivs, on the other hand, seems to grasp that Prescott is trying to allow guides to set up their own little fiefdoms. I think it is pretty clear “who the individuals were behind the scenes, for their own selfish agendas, who brought the negative PR on The Bahamas,” in Prescott’s own words. Sharks???

The voices in opposition have been as varied as they have been loud, but Prescott doesn’t seem to get it. He seems to see any disagreement as an insult to the soul of the Bahamas. I don’t think that’s it, not at all. In fact, the voices I’ve heard have expressed their love of the Bahamas and the Bahamians and have shared their worries that these regulations, unless drastically altered, will substantially harm the Bahamas.

Almost every voice has also expressed a strong willingness to support conservation and a reasonable permitting system, as well as bans on foreign mother-ship operations. So, if they are really interested in regulating the industry in a way that will be best for the Bahamas, there are plenty of solid ideas out there to replace the fatally flawed draft proposals.

UPDATE:

It seems the Orvis view (also the views of many others, including myself) that the proposed guidelines are intended to set up little fishing empires got some added legitimacy from this story. Marine Resources Minister V Alfred Gray paraphrased in this quote from the story:

Last week, Mr Gray said that the aim of the new regulations was to give local guides exclusivity in the area.

I hope you enjoy the little DIY Box they intend to put us all in. I’m sure it will be great.