Stakeholders aggressively seeking to regulate fly fishing in The Bahamas see potential for it to grow into a multimillion-dollar industry.

It's an industry that generates over $140 million according to an economic survey that was done in 2010, says Benjamin Pratt, the executive director of the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association (BFFIA).

"It has the potential of going up to $500 million. So for the Family Islands in particular, where most of these small businesses exist as guides and lodges, certainly opportunities exist for more Bahamians to get into it and be successful," said Pratt.

On Friday, scores of fishermen and guides from throughout the country gathered at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort to participate in the organization's first annual general meeting.

Since its formation six months ago, the association has attracted 102 members with representatives from islands like Andros, Abaco, Grand Bahama, Cat Island, Long Island, Exuma, Eleuthera, Acklins and Crooked Island. However, next year Pratt is projecting membership numbers to double.

"The fly fishing industry has been around since the early 1940s, but it's never really been organized. This year we have been able to incorporate our national association that brings together all of our players in the industry," he told Guardian Business.

"We formed this association because Bahamians have made investments as lodge owners and guides, but have not been able to get a return on those investments because they don't understand the business."

"We have also had an infiltration of foreigners who have come in and been investing in the industry putting further at a disadvantage those Bahamians who are involved."

Erin Ferguson, chairman of the BFFIA' steering committee, believes the country's fly fishing industry has the potential of being a multi-billion-dollar industry.

He said the country would reap endless benefits from tapping into this sector. In fact, he pointed out how much more lucrative this industry is in comparison to the traditional tourism offerings such as cruise ships, hotels and restaurants. Ferguson is calling on all tourism stakeholders to diversify the country's product.

"We have often taken the sun, sand and sea approach not looking at natural resources and what else The Bahamas has to offer. People don't understand how vast the country's landscape is," said Ferguson.

"These men and women in the fly fishing business make almost $3,000 per tourist whereas cruise ships are $50 per tourist, the hotel and restaurant business we know is $300 per tourist.

They make significantly more per tourist." "We have about 10 times the flat space that Florida has. Florida has a $12 billion industry, but we have just a small portion of that industry.

We have the potential to make it a multi-billion-dollar industry." The Bahamas reportedly has the largest flats in the world, and for Prescott Smith, BFFIA committee member, here is where the "true wealth of The Bahamas" lies.

At the end of the day, industry insiders say the focus of the BFFIA is to ensure that Bahamians earn most of the revenue that's generated from the sector.

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