NASSAU, The Bahamas — Opposition leader Michael Pintard has accused the Davis administration of failing to protect Bahamian fishermen and the country’s multi-million-dollar crawfish industry, warning that foreign poachers are once again undermining one of the nation’s most valuable exports.
“The opening of the 2025 crawfish season has once again laid bare the PLP government’s failure to defend Bahamian fishermen and safeguard our marine resources,” Pintard said. “Across our fishing communities, there are disturbing reports of seabed condos being tampered with, damaged traps, and lobster remains scattered below. These are the unmistakable signs of poaching before the season began. Fishermen are convinced Dominican vessels have resumed their illegal activities in Bahamian waters, all under the watch of the Davis administration.”
Calling the situation both an economic and national security crisis, Pintard said the PLP’s inaction puts Bahamian livelihoods at risk.
“Poaching is not just an environmental matter. It is a national security risk and an economic assault on Bahamian livelihoods. Our waters and the resources within them belong to Bahamians, but the PLP has abandoned that principle.”
Pintard contrasted the PLP’s record with measures taken under the last FNM administration, when he served as Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources.
“When I served as Minister…we outlawed the use of scuba hoses by Dominican divers, barred them from working on Bahamian fishing boats, and resisted every attempt to roll back the longline ban. We made clear that while fish processing could involve non-Bahamian investment, commercial fishing must remain the birthright of Bahamian citizens. Those measures were tough but necessary, and they helped rebuild our conch stocks and protect crawfish for Bahamian fishermen.”
He noted that between 2019 and 2021, the FNM invested heavily in enforcement, acquiring four new patrol vessels and imposing tougher penalties on poachers, including steeper fines and prison sentences.
“The PLP has reversed course,” Pintard charged. “Their attorneys worked to undo those protections, and when they returned to government, prosecutions evaporated. In Parliament, we warned that some Dominicans were pursuing citizenship through marriages of convenience and using spousal permits as a back door into our commercial industry. Instead of closing loopholes, the PLP allowed the very safeguards we put in place to be dismantled.”
He added that arrests of Dominican fishers during this period showed they had Bahamian contacts stored in their phones, raising questions about collusion.
“A thorough investigation into who these poachers are collaborating with inside the country to devastate our fishing stocks is urgently needed. We must also work through diplomatic channels to ensure that businesspersons in the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, or the United States are not in any way cooperating in the sale of marine resources stolen from Bahamian waters.”
Pintard warned that entire areas of the southern fishing banks have been “wiped out” this summer, threatening both community livelihoods and the Bahamas’ Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, which underpins the international credibility of Bahamian crawfish exports.
“Even as our fishermen fight to hold onto their livelihoods, the Bahamas’ hard-earned Marine Stewardship Council certification now hangs in the balance. And while poachers from the Dominican Republic ravage our southern waters, the government cannot even stop Americans from fishing illegally off West End. Bahamians are left unprotected while foreigners plunder our resources.”
Looking ahead, Pintard pledged that a future FNM government would restore confidence in the sector by tightening enforcement, revoking fraudulent citizenships, and fully resourcing the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.
“The difference is clear. Where the FNM acted decisively, the PLP has failed. Under the next FNM government, fraudulent citizenships will be revoked. Those who aid foreign poachers will face prosecution. We will empower Bahamian fishermen to report violations directly, and the Defence Force will be fully resourced to respond. Most importantly, we will consult with fishing communities, associations, and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force to design a comprehensive enforcement plan that secures this industry for generations of Bahamians.”
