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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Statement By Fred Mitchell MP, Minister Of Foreign Affairs Of The Bahamas On Sustainable Ocean Breakfast Hosted By John Kerry Secretary Of State Of The United States Of America on 25th September 2014 at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY:
It is a common principle that the resources of the Ocean are the Common Heritage of Mankind.
· The Bahamas recognizes the need to enhance global systems of monitoring, control and enforcement in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
· A global agreement with accountability measures will help to stabilize the exploitation of the Ocean. The Bahamas calls on Member States to honour international ocean commitments and ensure a decision is taken by the end of the 69th Session of the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly), or by September 2015, to launch negotiations on a new implementing agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of the high seas.
· Another key "Oceans priority" that The Bahamas believes necessitates immediate attention at the United Nations level is ensuring sustainable fisheries.
· Reports reveal over fishing of the top predators of our oceans. For example, scientists have documented100 million sharks are killed every year, primarily to support a global shark fin industry. The Bahamas declared its economic exclusive zone a shark sanctuary in 2011 to conserve these top ocean predators.
· Our Fisheries Act is in the process of being updated, a closed season on fishing grouper was instituted in 2004 and which added to the existing closed season on Lobster fishing. Commercial harvesting of turtles is now prohibited. The Bahamas in 2013 assumed the chairmanship of the ‘Save Our Shark Coalition’ in New York, and with the support of like-minded Member States, is aggressively seeking to bring these issues to the international community.
· We support the arguments calling for improved cooperation and precautionary management. It is noted that States through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have enacted important regulation of trade in shark products. However, only a handful of shark species are benefiting from these important measures. Regulation should be extended to additional shark species in need of the same protection.
The sea is of great commercial importance to us. The way of life and our culture are influenced by it.
These days, we are fighting the scourge of an invasive species called the lion fish, not native to The Bahamas but a predator brought in as a pet and now a scourge throughout the entire Caribbean.
We are also fighting poaching from the Dominican Republic and have concluded a cooperation agreement with that country to stop it.
We also detect that things are changing: the oceans are warmer, the storms are more intense, the coral is dying because of the warmer water and acidic oceans are having an effect on the fish that depend on the coral reefs.
Sports fishing have to be managed because some believe that the fish which visitors catch without a licence and without limits may be more than the actual poaching by those fishermen from the south about which I spoke.
We have one of the first established marine protected areas in the western hemisphere in what we consider the most beautiful spot on earth: the Exumas. It has existed since 1958 and it’s ‘no catch zone’ is under the superintendence of the Bahamas National Trust. It has been scientifically proven as a fisheries replenishment area.
We have set aside other marine parks and ‘no take areas’ to sustain our fisheries. We are expanding the marine protected area network to 20 per cent by 2020. We have established the BPAF to support management of the network.
We are concerned about the conch and its sustainability. We have banned all turtle hunting. We are a sanctuary for sharks and rays. We have banned long line fishing, one of the most destructive activities in the world.
We have set aside other marine parks and no take areas to protect the fishery.
We are concerned about the conch which is important to our diet and culture and of some commercial importance as well. We have banned all turtle hunting.
The management of fishery stocks in The Bahamas is an issue within our capacity to settle.
What is more difficult is that of the climate change issues, the warming of the ocean, and the pollution.
We were therefore heartened by the words of the President of the United States on the US spoken in New York on Monday, accepting their responsibility for having contributed to climate change and now to solving the issue. The President’s words strengthen the most powerful case we have and that is the moral case. We have no army to enforce this case. We have only the fact that it is the right thing to do.
In more practical terms, it will take funding to solve this issue. Our own Prime Minister says this comes down to money and putting your money where your mouth is. In our country we say “talk is cheap but money buys land.” This funding must not depend on GDP per capita but on need and vulnerability. The Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable to sea level rise and to the impacts of climate change.
In sum then, I am here to reaffirm the commitment of The Bahamas to a sustainable fishery, to the strictures of reporting, regularizing, and stopping illegal fishing.
Additionally, the government of The Bahamas will as a matter of priority undertake an examination of the Food and Agricultural Association’s Port State Measures agreement with a view to signing on to this agreement.
Foreign Affairs Minister Talks about Challenges of
The Bahamas In Protecting its Oceans
By: Llonella Gilbert
Bahamas Information Services
September 26, 2014
NEW YORK, U.S.A. -- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell said The Bahamas has its own set of challenges as it relates to policing and protecting the oceans within its jurisdiction.
Speaking at the Sustainable Ocean Breakfast hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Waldorf Astoria, Thursday, September 25, 2014, the Foreign Affairs Minister said The Bahamas is fighting poaching from the Dominican Republic and has concluded a cooperation agreement with that country to stop it.
He explained that environmental experts in The Bahamas have also detected that things are changing: the oceans are warmer, storms are more intense, coral is dying because of the warmer water and acidic oceans are having an effect on the fish that depend on the coral reefs.
Minister Mitchell said, “Sports-fishing has to be managed because some believe that the fish which visitors catch without a licence and without limits may be more than the actual poaching by those fishermen from the south.”
He noted that The Bahamas has one of the first established marine protected areas in the western hemisphere in the Exumas.
“It has existed since 1958 and its ‘no catch zone’ is under the superintendence of the Bahamas National Trust. It has been scientifically proven as a fisheries replenishment area,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.
“We have set aside other marine parks and ‘no take areas’ to sustain our fisheries. We are expanding the marine protected area network to 20 per cent by 2020. We have established the Bahamas Protected Areas Funds to support management of the network.”
He also noted that The Bahamas has banned all turtle hunting and long line fishing, which is one of the most destructive activities in the world.
Minister Mitchell said The Bahamas is fighting the scourge of an invasive species known as the lionfish that is not native to The Bahamas. “It is a predator brought in as a pet that is now a scourge throughout the entire Caribbean.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister explained that the management of fisheries stocks in The Bahamas is within the country’s capacity to settle, but what is more difficult is that of the climate change issues, the warming of the ocean, and the pollution.
“We were therefore heartened by the words of the President of the United States spoken in New York on Monday, accepting their responsibility for having contributed to climate change and now to solving the issue.
“The President’s words strengthen the most powerful case we have and that is the moral case. We have no army to enforce this case. We have only the fact that it is the right thing to do.”
Minister Mitchell said in more practical terms, it will take funding to solve the issue.
“Our own Prime Minister [the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie] says this comes down to money and putting your money where your mouth is.
“In our country we say ‘talk is cheap but money buys land’. This funding must not depend on the Gross Domestic Product per capita but on need and vulnerability,” he said.
“The Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable to sea level rise and to the impacts of climate change.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Talks About the Importance of the Oceans for The Bahamas
By Llonella Gilbert
Bahamas Information Services
September 25, 2014
NEW YORK, U.S.A. -- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell said for The Bahamas the sea is of great commercial importance and the way of life and the culture of Bahamians are influenced by it.
Speaking at the Sustainable Ocean Breakfast hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Waldorf Astoria, Thursday, September 25, 2014, the Foreign Affairs Minister said it is also a common principle that the resources of the Ocean are the “Common Heritage of Mankind”.
He said, “The Bahamas recognises the need to enhance global systems of monitoring, control and enforcement in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”
Minister Mitchell said a global agreement with accountability measures will help to stabilise the exploitation of the Ocean.
“The Bahamas calls on Member States to honour international ocean commitments and ensure a decision is taken by the end of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, or by September 2015, to launch negotiations on a new implementing agreement for the conservation and sustainable fisheries.”
He said another key ‘Oceans priority’ that The Bahamas believes necessitates immediate attention at the United Nations level is ensuring sustainable fisheries.
“Reports reveal over-fishing of the top predators of our oceans. For example, scientists have documented100 million sharks are killed every year, primarily to support a global shark fin industry.
“The Bahamas declared its economic exclusive zone a shark sanctuary in 2011 to conserve these top ocean predators.”
The Minister said our Fisheries Act is in the process of being updated, a closed season on fishing grouper was instituted in 2004 and which added to the existing closed season on Lobster fishing. Commercial harvesting of turtles is now prohibited.
“The Bahamas in 2013 assumed the chairmanship of the ‘Save Our Shark Coalition’ in New York, and with the support of like-minded Member States, is aggressively seeking to bring these issues to the international community.”
He said The Bahamas supports the arguments calling for improved cooperation and precautionary management: “It is noted that States through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species have enacted important regulation of trade in shark products.
However, only a handful of shark species are benefiting from these important measures. Regulation should be extended to additional shark species in need of the same protection.”
© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com
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