March 29, 2006.
Great Guana Cay has always been a fishing community. Although the island consists of both second-homeowners and native Bahamians, it is the Bahamians who have largely maintained the traditional fishermen lifestyle.
Although the Great Guana Cay issue is now known around the world, few have focused on the fishermen themselves. In fact, these Bahamian fishermen are helping lead the charge against the Bakers Bay Club, and with good reason too. They know by experience what will harm their fisheries, their source of employment.
The sixth affidavit of Troy Albury mentions this,
"The community of Guana Cay has approximately 150 Bahamian residents, landowners and a further 150 non-citizen home owners and periodic residents. Of the Bahamians there are many fishermen. In fact Guana Cay traditionally has had a small fleet of fishing vessels and enterprises of approximately 15 vessels and approximately 30 fishermen. These vessels and the fishermen fish for lobster, conch and fish throughout the year during the relevant seasons for the catch. In addition, these fishermen are landowners and residents of Guana Cay, and they are also mechanics, craftsmen, carpenters, joiners and persons employed in the boat maintenance and fishing trade, in addition to the actual fishermen themselves. This continues to be an economy and traditional way of life in the community. Many of the families of the fishermen are involved in selling and marketing the catch."
The fishermen on the island rarely have the internet connections to communicate with the outside world on this issue, but nevertheless, their livelihoods depend on the outcome. One resident talked to a Guana Cay fisherman about his witnessing the Disney devastation - and knowing what it would do to the reef, and now seeing the same thing happening again.
"He has told me the story (about Disney). (He) and other fishermen from Guana Cay went conching and fishing down in the area where the (Disney cruise ship) dredging was done. He told me about the turtles and the nesting around Guelemi Cay and at the north end of the island. Once the dredging started, the conch were gone, the fish were gone, and of course we know the reef was killed in that area."
The resident continues, "The reef has never been the same and will never be the same. Now he sees the same scenario happening at Bakers Bay. (The fisherman) got so emotionally involved in this fight that it started affecting him physically and his wife insisted that he back off from the fight against the development or she would leave him! She couldn't sit back and watch him kill himself with all the stress. I remember two times that he had to be taken to Marsh Harbour (clinic) because they thought he was having a heart attack."
The developers have often tried to paint the opposition to their golf course megadevlopment as the works of a few foreign homeowners, but in fact an overwhelming majority are against the development.
In Troy Albury's sixth affidavit, this relationship and its fishing-vilage quality is reiterated,
"A culture has developed on Great Guana Cay as between the Bahamian landowners and residents and the non-Bahamians of mutual respect, accommodation and cooperation in respect of almost all facets of our daily existence in the small community. Crime is almost non existent and happens rarely, if at all. For the most part we sleep with our windows open and doors unlocked. At times many homes are unattended for weeks and unlocked. I can personally say that I do not even know where the keys for my home are as they have never been used."
Later, the affidavit states,
"Residents and the fishermen rely on the pristine marine wetland, reef and water environment. That is why the local economy of Great Guana Cay has for decades continued to thrive. For instance, the local fishermen and visitors do not over fish the conch, lobster and fish stock in and around the Island and the fishing fleet generally travels great distances to other fishing grounds for any large commercial catch. This has all resulted in a very attractive and desirable community , environment, and sustained a marine and land resource on, in and around Guana Cay."
The fishing grounds near Guana Cay rely on imperceptible growth to thrive. But Discovery Land Company is advertising that 300-400 foot yachts and giant sports fishing vessels will be welcomed to the island. The marina, which is advertised at between 180-240 slips, will house an enormous amount of sports fishing vessels.
The fishermen of Guana Cay (as well as dolphins and large fishes) all compete for the same stock of fish. The conch and lobster in the area are especially sensitive to overfishing or activities such as dredging. Affidavits in the court case have pointed out that Disney's dredging project in 1988 caused a significant loss in the conch populations where the residents traditionally fished. But Discovery Land Company refuses to budge on a dredging project of its own, which will create significant sedimentation in the traditional fishing grounds of the islanders. This dredging project is adjacent to the bonefishing flats and mangrove fishery of the island: that fishery is the island's sole area for breeding fish and invertebrates. The sedimentation will quickly and continually fill the fishery.
Although destroying the native fishing grounds is a certainty if this project is to continue, islanders say that their traditional fishing and foraging rights are already at stake. Security guards now guard the island's treasury and crown lands, refusing entry into this traditional grounds where many of the locals used to collect food sources. In the sixth affidavit, Albury says,
My family, and many other residents of Guana Cay, have, since the establishment of fences and barriers along the perimeter of the Crown or Treasury land, been prevented entry thereto and also because there are security officers patrolling the perimeters we have been periodically refused entry and have been unable even to walk along the coastline to access the beaches, traditional crabbing grounds and other areas where we have crabbed, picked fruits such as coca plum and seagrapes and otherwise used the areas both below and above high water mark traditionally.
In the Bahamas, as in many other places in the world, beaches are public up to the high-water line. But many reports of the security guards denying the locals access to their traditional fishing and foraging grounds are surfacing. Additionally, the developer has placed buoys to restrict landing in these areas. The affidavit mentions this,
The buoy lines have prevented many residents, who have traditionally accessed those public beach areas by boat, from accessing them. It appears that the Developers are doing everything which they can, not only to prevent access to what may be their perceived property, but also to Treasury Land, Crown Land and beaches to which we have always traditionally had access.
Even fishermen from neighboring islands who traditionally use the public areas of the Bakers Bay area have been denied access, according to locals. In the affidavit, this is also mentioned,
At the meeting, there were many fishermen and residents of Man-o-War Cay. A number of them protested and complained that they have been denied access to traditional crabbing grounds in the development site. They said that since the Development has begun, they have periodically attempted to land on the beach and/or to walk inland in order to access the crabbing area. The crabbing area is located in that part of the Development which comprises, for the most part, Crown Land and/or Treasury Land. Even though this land does not belong to the Developers, they have posted security guards which patrol the area and those guards do not allow them to enter the property. As with the people from Man-o-War Cay, I am aware that many of the residents of Guana Cay have likewise been denied access.
All of this is happening before major construction has even begun. Scientists may say the locals will lose their ability to fish as Discovery Land Company destroys the nearshore marine environment. But it is already happening.
