Following concerns raised by United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio over the possibility of Chinese commercial fishing in Bahamian waters, Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield yesterday assured that, that will not be an issue under the Minnis administration.
"Our government's position is that fishing is reserved for Bahamians and that's been the policy of Bahamian governments from time immemorial and I don't see that changing any time soon," Henfield said.
Rubio raised the concern during the Senate hearing for U. S President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to The Bahamas "Papa" Doug Manchester.
In November last year, The Nassau Guardian revealed that the Christie administration gave the green light to its embassy in Beijing to further pursue the $2.1 billion agri-fisheries joint venture proposal with the Chinese.
The former government shelved the proposal amidst the public uproar that followed the Guardian's story.
Rubio said, "While these talks did not yield an agreement, we remain concerned about the potential that Chinese commercial fishing vessels which Beijing has used as a type of militia in the South China Sea, would be so close to U.S. waters and potentially involve now a dispute with American commercial and recreational fishing interests in what might be international waters, or even Bahamian waters."
He added that, "If at any point in the future the Bahamian government considered leasing its waters for commercial fishing to the Chinese, at the expense of the United States, so close to our shores, I think that would most certainly have a negative impact on our relations with them."

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