Fishing for Revenue – The 2012/13 Budget & Fisheries

The Opposition OBA have struck out rather strongly against the proposal in the 2012/13 Budget to license foreign fishing vessels operating within our 200 nautical miles marine economic exclusive zone (MEEZ – I use this instead of ‘EEZ’ to differentiate it from the Economic Empowerment Zones) and to develop a shore-side fish processing facility. In addition, Minister Bean (the relevant Minister, of Environment, Planning & Infrastructure Strategy) has been, to some degree, ridiculed for his suggestions concerning the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – that is, drones – to monitor and help enforce our MEEZ. What I hope to do here is to try and look at the issues concerning the MEEZ, as brought up by the 2012/13 Budget and the OBA’s reaction.

The MEEZ Itself:

The MEEZ is essentially a 200 nautical miles (roughly 370km) circle radiating outwards from Bermuda; as Bermuda’s zone does not overlap with that of any other nations, our’s is an essentially circular MEEZ. This includes our ‘territorial waters’ which extend only 12 nautical miles from shore. MEEZ’s were set-up in the early 1980s, as a result of the third Convention on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The marine resources of the MEEZ, including both living (i.e. fisheries) and mineral (i.e. oil, gas) resources, as well as marine renewable energy resources (i.e. wind and water).

As regards fisheries, the MEEZ itself is qualified by international regulations concerning fisheries quotas; of particular importance here is the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ICCAT not only allocates quotas for how much of each tuna species can be caught, but also regulates the quotas for ‘tuna-like’ species. ICCAT thus regulates annual quotas for all five tuna species (Bluefin, Yellowfin, Albacore, Bigeye and Skip-Jack), as well as billfishes (Swordfish, White Marlin, Blue Marlin and Sailfish) and mackerels (Spanish and King) (I may have missed a few, but this is generally comprehensive).

ICCAT allocates quotas to each country, basing it’s quotas generally on their studies of fish stocks and the area of each country’s MEEZ. I’m not sure exactly how they do this, or how they regulate quotas in non-MEEZ waters, but I am of the understanding that they can re-allocate a country’s quota to another country, if they feel the original country is not utilising it’s quota.

I understand Bermuda’s quotas to be something along the lines of 35t of Swordfish, 42t of Yellowfin, 200t of Albacore and 2t of Bluefin. I’ve been unable to find the exact, up-to-date figures on their site. I do know that in 2006 ICCAT decided to award 20t of our Swordfish quota to the French OT of St. Pierre et Miquelon (off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada), an event which I believe triggered the subsequent developments in Bermuda concerning our MEEZ.

What the Government said:

Under the 2012/13 Budget, both the formal Budget and the additional information from the Ministry, is that the Government would seek to introduce licensing of foreign vessels operating within our MEEZ. The emphasis here was on both generating a new revenue stream for Bermuda AND ‘increased control via licensing and protection of our [MEEZ] from international vessels‘. Furthermore, the construction of a shore-side processing facility is ‘a necessary component to ensure the success of the offshore fishery‘.

Historical Use of Our MEEZ:

I am only aware of the general aspects of the historical fishing in our MEEZ from the 1980s. I know that in that decade (I believe this occurred from the 1960s though) there was a fleet of Japanese and Taiwanese fishing vessels, based out of the Dutch West Indies ( St. Maarten?) that would use our MEEZ from November to March/April. These were industrial long-line fishing fleets, often operating in coordination. They used unsustainable methods, of which the OBA and various environmentalists rightly oppose; they were particularly notorious for ‘on-the-side’ harvesting of shark fins (their primary focus was Albacore tuna).

From the 1990s to the present I don’t think our waters have been subject to the same degree of intensive fishing; certainly there have been sporadic forays into our MEEZ by American, Canadian and additional Asian fleets, but nothing as widespread or intensive as the above. What is known though is that we (Bermuda) were not able then, or now, to monitor the exploitation of our MEEZ by foreign vessels.

Controlling the MEEZ:

We don’t have a navy, and our police boats and Regimental boat troop are, well, of limited use for patrolling our MEEZ. The costs of establishing a physical naval presence sufficient to patrol our waters and enforce our claims are, I imagine, prohibitive, especially in the current economic situations. This leads to the discussion by Minister Bean of investigating the use of UAVs/drones. I imagine these are, while expensive, potentially cheaper than outfitting a suitable naval presence – although, of course, a full cost-benefit assessment would have to be done. This would tie into the idea of licensing fishing vessels to operate in our waters.

By setting up a system whereby ships are licensed to fish in our waters we can stipulate a number of conditions, such as the method of long-lining (there are more environmentally friendly methods that reduce by-catch), actions on by-catch, reporting of all catch and even (I presume) such things as the need to land the fish on-shore in Bermuda. Any ships not licensed by us, well, there are limits to what we can physically do at the time of identifying them, but we would be able (provided we have the evidence, such as surveillance from a UAV) to take the fishing vessel/company to court and attempt to prevent abuse of our MEEZ by this means. By doing so we can at least control the exploitation of resources in our MEEZ, and prevent the reallocation of our quotas to other jurisdictions which may engage in less sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

There are, of course, additional issues that need to be addressed, but in interest of not creating an overly long post, I’ll leave it at this for now…

A New Direction for MAP

As part of my general ‘reignition’ of my blogging activity I am rehabilitating a number of blogs that I variously created over time (for various reasons) but failed to develop. I’m experimenting in what I am calling ‘meta-blogging’, where I have a constellation of blogs, each dedicated to a particular focus but allowing for a holistic synthesis.

While this initial blog drew inspiration from the origins of the Grenadian Revo and the Bermudian Committee for Universal Adult Sufferage (CUAS) and sought to develop a new approach to politics (which I still support but will continue elsewhere), the blog will now (taking advantage of it’s acronym!) focus on Marine, Agri/Aqua-culture and Planning issues as they relate to Bermuda, and perhaps the UK/Scotland, which I am familiar with.

While I welcome feedback and suggestions of topics to cover, I intend to develop the following topics:

1 – Aquaculture in Bermuda?
2 – The new City of Hamilton Plan
3 – Marine Spatial Planning – What is it and do we need it?
4 – Community Gardening
5 – Payments for Ecosystem Services
6 – Planning for Ecosystem Services
7 – Energy in Bermuda
8 – Flatts
9 – Somerset
10 – The History of Planning in Bermuda
11 – Hamilton Waterfront Plans
12 – Pembroke Dump
13 – Agriculture in Bermuda
14 – Shipping Channels
15 – Special Development Orders

MAP

Our Country today faces its biggest crisis. The present political and economic situation has now reached the point where almost everyone in the Society is dissatisfied and groping for change and a new sense of direction and purpose.

To most of us, the exact reasons for this state of affairs are not clear. Some blame it on Government mismanagement; others blame the opposition party; still others blame the present crisis on the people themselves. The question we as a people must now ask and answer is —– what can we do?

The present members of “MAP” have looked with dismay at the collapse of our Country – politically, economically and spiritually – and have decided that the time is now to begin a Movement aimed at mobilising and organising the whole people into popular bodies to seek for true liberation, to work out the ways and means of such liberation and to begin the implementation of those ways and means. We see our task as assisting our people to achieve this goal.

We recognise that in the final analysis this could only be achieved when the people, the whole people organised in our Parishes and at our places of work, have taken political power as an organised mass movement. It is to this end that we now dedicate ourselves.

We believe that the basic reason for the political mess in our Country today is the continued existence and corruption of the party system of government as it now is. The people have become divided into two hostile party camps – PLP and UBP. One section of the people is fighting against another section over THE PARTY and THE LEADER. We go to the Polls once every five years and make an X; after that we must shut our mouths and take what we get from the party bosses called “elected representatives”. These “elected representatives”, regardless of party affiliation, are not answerable to us. They simply attempt to fool us with promises and political big-talk at public meetings. Even in our once-every-five-years democracy, we have no control of the electoral process to make sure that the representatives we want are elected. What results is not democracy but “hypocrisy” – a mockery of democracy, properly understood. We have to demolish once and for all the present hypocritical system and the very basis on which dictators arise. In its place, we, the people, must build a new popular system of government of the people and by the people. An egg must be broken before an omelette can be made; a political egg has got to be broken in Bermuda today.

The present Governmental machinery of House of Assembly and Senate is extremely unsatisfactory, and it is our aim to discuss with our people the possible ways and means of changing the form, method and structure of this machinery. We believe that political democracy can only be relevant and meaningful if the people – all the people – are involved in its operation and control.

We recognise too that the State apparatus, the instruments by which the Government rules, and without which no Government can run a country, are badly in need of restructuring. To this end, we propose to put out for discussions over the next couple of months policy proposals on what changes are required in the administration of the Civil Service, the Judicial Administration and in the Police Department. In these areas, as in all other areas, the one thing that stands out a mile is that the people are not involved in their operation – and it is our convinced position that this participation is essential.

All of this we see as essential before the quality of our material, social and spiritual lives can be bettered.

Our aim is to mobilise and organise our people into popular bodies to take political power and to run the government of the country. Our proposal for a new popular form of government is what we call ASSEMBLIES OF THE PEOPLE. It is very simple. The roots of the Assembly system are the Parishes. All the people in a Parish will form a Parish Council. The Parish Council will be the local government. At the Parish Council the people will decide what they want and when. Elected Delegates from all local councils will comprise the National Assembly which will be the government of the Country. Most important, any Parish Council at any time can recall its delegates from the National Assembly and elect new ones.

The last paragraph outlined what can be called community or residential assemblies. Our proposals also include the setting-up of Workers Councils. These Workers Councils will follow the same general pattern as the community or residential assemblies. Transport Workers, for example, could form separate local assemblies of bus drivers, conductors, taxi-drivers and so on. And the same could be done in relation to nurses, teachers, estate workers, students, professionals, store clerks etc.

Elected Delegates from the Workers Councils will, likewise, be entitled to representation in the National Assembly.

So that, what we will have as a new form of government is:-

1. Local Assemblies of all the people at the neighbourhood level
2. Workers Councils of the people at their place of work
3. Parish Councils of delegates from all Local Assemblies in the parish
4. A National Assembly of delegates from all Parish Councils and Workers Councils in the island
5. The National Assembly will elect from among the members a National Assembly Council which will be responsible for carrying-out the day-to-day functions of the Assembly.

We are convinced that this is the way TO BEGIN the building of a new form of government based on popular participation, involvement and control. With the Assembly form of Government, the people can then ‘map’ out a new course and make a new beginning.

We are not selling a product or an election program. Nor are we asking for votes, or coming to lead.

What we are seeking and hoping to do is to assist our people in their desire to lead themselves. And that, to us, is democracy. The people must say what they want, when they want, where they want and how they want. By means of the kind of activity we propose to follow, the people will work out the ways and means of bringing into being the new form of Government.

In this our first post, we state our conviction that all power and control must be placed in the hands of all the people. In later Statements, we intend to clearly set out our policy proposals for liberation.

Let us together MAP out the path on the road to a new beginning.