Discussions between The Bahamas and United States to define a maritime border should have an impact on those making a living out on the waters, according to Winston Rolle, CEO at Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC).
Rolle told Guardian Business that he welcomed the talks between the two countries, which began last week because it is an opportunity for stronger policing of Bahamian borders.
However, he maintains that a key element to the discussions will be the border's management, once it has been established and defined.
"It should be impactful for those persons that make a living on the waters, such as fishing, especially as we look at how we can better police our borders. Persons may come fishing into out waters indiscriminately, so I think that it can be impacted. But the key will be how do we manage it. Drawing the lines is one thing but it also has to be adequately managed to our benefit," Rolle said.
"I think it is going to require lots more work, especially from officials from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force."
At the opening of last week's discussions, Brent Symonette, minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister, emphasized that defining a maritime border between The Bahamas and the United States will allow for more efficient management of the country's marine resources.
The two countries began their first set of technical meetings last Thursday on the delimitation of a maritime boundary.
Symonette also revealed to Guardian Business that the session was the beginning of formal negotiation that will ultimately define The Bahamas' maritime borders.
"A defined maritime border between The Bahamas and the United States will allow for more effective law enforcement of The Bahamas' maritime area, including a more efficient management of fisheries resources and further advancement towards mitigating environmental degradation," he said.
Michael Braynen, director at the Department of Marine Resources, pointed out how these negotiations are expected to clearly define a limit between the United States and the waters of The Bahamas.
"It will make a lot of difference on the Bahamian side with respect to law enforcement and also with the respect to turning the attention of people to the waters well beyond our coastal areas," he explained.
"In The Bahamas, most of our fishing takes place in coastal areas. I think some of the attention that will arise from these delimitation talks will cause Bahamians to look more at these resources of the deeper waters."
These talks come weeks after executives of the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) emphasized the need for heavy patrol to take place in the southern Bahamas.
"I think the more assets that you give the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF), the better it will be in the fight against poaching. More importantly, the assets have to be properly deployed because at the moment the RBDF have assets but they are just not in the areas where it is most needed which is in the southern Bahamas," according to Adrian LaRoda, secretary and head of publications at BCFA.
The prime minister said the Free National Movement (FNM) administration will spend $120 million on 11 new vessels for the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) and $20 million to deepen Coral Harbour.
To date, The Bahamas has completed a maritime border agreement with Cuba and has initiated talks with the United Kingdom in respect of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
However, these talks were suspended due to internal issues that exist in those islands.

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