Government backbencher McKeeva Bush is seeking to resuscitate plans for a fishing licence regime with catch restrictions for work permit holders in the Cayman Islands.
The West Bay West MP has filed a Private Members’ Motion, which has been seconded by Bodden Town West MP Chris Saunders, seeking a formalised licensing framework for fishing, specifically for work permit workers.
“For years we have been concerned [with] regards to the wide, open way in which we see people fishing, giving no regard to size and species. It’s time this wanton disregard stop. This is an effort to curtail it,” Bush told the Cayman Compass on Wednesday.
The motion is expected to be considered for debate when the Parliament opens next week.
New attempt on controversial issue
This is not the first time such steps have been taken.
In 2007, an amendment to the Marine Conservation Act required non-Caymanians to hold a licence from the Marine Conservation Board at cost of $400 per year or $150 per month in order to fish.
In a 2010 court case, in which four people were accused of fishing without a licence, then Chief Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale – now Cayman’s chief justice – said the law was discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The provision was later repealed with the passing of the National Conservation Act in 2013.
The Department of Environment, responding to Compass queries on the issue via email, said there are currently no fishing licence requirements nor fees for anyone, whether resident or visitor.
However, it said, “at the request of our Minister and Ministry [of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency] the DoE developed a fishing licence proposal early last year. This proposal is currently with our Ministry”.
The details of that proposal have not been released.
The Compass has reached out to the ministry for further information about the proposal and if it includes provisions specifically aimed at work permit holders.
Motion seeks action on licensing
Bush said, in the motion, that allowing work permit holders to participate in fishing and extraction of various forms of marine life is one way of fostering integration into the culture of the Cayman Islands.
However, “supplementary measures” must be implemented to further prevent overfishing and depletion of marine life of the Cayman Islands, he said.
“One such method is to establish and expand, where necessary, a specific fee and fine regime for work permit holders who partake in fishing and various forms of marine life extraction in the Cayman Islands,” he said in the motion.
Bush is seeking an expanded licensing system that would include a specified limit and frequency for fishing and other forms of marine life extraction and a $1,000 licensing fee per year for these activities.
He is also proposing that the House resolve to include a $1,500 fine for the first offence of exceeding the desired limit and frequency for fishing and marine life extraction.
Bush is also seeking a resolution that a work permit holder be deported on conviction of a second offence of exceeding the desired limit and frequency.
The DoE, in its emailed response to the Compass, did not comment on Bush’s proposed resolutions.
However, it addressed local fisheries management, saying that traditionally, fishing pressure has been managed by the DoE “through a marine protected areas strategy, supplemented by fisheries management tools such as catch and size limits, closed seasons and gear restrictions”.
Formal marine park regulations were first established in 1986 after years of research in response to reports of diminished fish stocks, it said.
“Today around 50% of our coastal waters are protected as ‘no take’ zones with species specific seasons and size and catch limits applied to open and line fishing zones,” it said.
Marine protected areas “are successful” in Cayman, it said, and in many regions internationally, as fishing pressure is significantly reduced in protected areas, which allows marine life to spill over into open areas.
“Current marine park regulations apply to all persons fishing in the Cayman Islands, whether resident or visitor,” it added.
Push to take over Red Spot Beach
Bush also filed a second motion seeking that government take over the Red Spot Beach fishing area in George Town and put an end to debate over the long-disputed area.
“Government has made every effort to be reasonable, all to no avail, and so to protect these fishermen and vendors and what we feel is a local cultural experience, we are asking government to take it over,” Bush said.
He acknowledged there is a legal process for the acquisition of the property, which government will have to observe. Bush said, “We have to settle this matter and give the locals who have been using the property for generations protection”.
Land owner Chris Johnson has been seeking to turn the small, sandy bay on North Church Street, known as Red Spot Beach, into what he described as a beautified “park-like site” for residents and cruise ship tourists.
Johnson had applied to the Central Planning Authority for permission to build stairs and a ramp to allow for easier public access on his parcel, which surrounds the public beach.
Fishermen who operate at the site have resisted those plans and have sought the intervention of the courts.
Opposition seeks expansion of first-time homeowner concessions
Deputy Opposition Leader Joey Hew has also filed a motion seeking lawmakers support to level the playing field when it comes to concessions for first-time Caymanian homeowners under the Stamp Duty Act.
According to his motion, the act, though amended and updated, has “historically excluded properties” in certain blocks and parcels in West Bay and George Town from qualifying for the first-time ownership concessions.
Hew told the Compass that the proposed motion aims to “rectify the existing restrictions” that prevent first-time Caymanian homebuyers from benefiting from the duty waiver programme if their property is located in designated areas in West Bay, Seven Mile Beach and Eastern Avenue.
Hew’s motion, which has been seconded by Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart, is asking the government to “consider removing the arbitrary and inequitable restrictions on which properties qualify for concessions when Caymanians are purchasing their first owner-occupied home or first property.”
“The rationale behind these restrictions remains unclear to us, but we firmly believe that they are divisive and prejudicial in nature. Our goal is to promote fairness and equal opportunities for all Caymanian first [time] homeowners, regardless of their chosen location. By advocating for the removal of these barriers, we strive to create a more inclusive and equitable programme,” Hew said.
The motion is expected to be debated when the House meets next week.
Hew is expected to be sworn in as opposition leader at Monday’s sitting.
He will also be taking over the reins of the Progressives party to lead it into the 2025 general election.
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