Days after suspected Dominican poachers shot at and led Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers on a "hostile" high seas chase, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) reignited calls for the government to place stiffer penalties on poachers. Keith Carroll, the group's vice president, said Bahamian fishermen do not feel safe and have encountered aggressive Dominican poachers in remote fishing grounds. He stressed that if the captains of these illegal fishing vessels do not face stiffer jail time if caught, the poaching will continue. Carroll also suggested that the government refurbish seized poaching vessels and add them to the RBDF's fleet. "The problem is we are catching these boats but I don't think the fines are that stiff that can deter them from coming back here," Carroll said."I know we cannot put all in prison. But I think if we give the captain 25 years he'll think twice about leaving Santo Domingo to come here.". . .Money is no problem for them [poachers] in paying those fines."The maximum fine for anyone caught fishing illegally in Bahamian waters is $5,000. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries V. Alfred Gray has said he wants the fine to be increased to $250,000 for a captain of an illegal vessel and $50,000 for a crew member. Gray and several other government ministers met with Dominican officials in 2012 to discuss the issue. At the time, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said the Dominican government pledged to help stop the illegal practice. However, Carroll believes that meeting was fruitless. He urged The Bahamas' government to get tougher on the practice, which he believes Dominican officials are turning a blind eye to. "I don't think their government is doing anything about it because it's no way these big boats can go into Santo Domingo and offload all this fish and the [Dominican] government doesn't know anything about it," he said. "And they know these fish are not coming out of their waters."Forty-two suspected Dominican poachers were arrested on Saturday.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian