business@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2022
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‘Endless battle with criminals’ of the sea By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN fishermen are facing “an endless battle with criminals” poaching and stealing with impunity amid fears crawfish prices have plunged by up to 50 percent compared to 2021’s “amazing” highs. Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s (NFA) secretary, told Tribune Business that with lobster season less than one month old he has already received multiple reports from fishermen throughout The Bahamas that their condos and traps have been “speared” by poachers during the closed period. Revealing that he, too, had been a victim after rival fishermen “stole my fishing pot from under my nose”, he called for a shift in attitude and mentality among the “dishonourable” minority in the sector who fail to “value people’s hard work” and instead exploit it for their own financial gain.
• Fisherman says ‘dishonourable’ minority hurting sector • As industry grapples with ‘drastic’ 50% lobster price fall • Multiple reports feature spearing, poaching and pot theft Besides this threat, Mr Maillis told this newspaper fishermen are fearful over early-season indications that there has been “a pretty drastic change” in lobster prices compared to 2021. Last year saw the
industry achieve $20-$21 per pound for its catch, but the NFA secretary disclosed he has received reports that some fishermen are presently getting “as low as $8-$10”. As a result, he added that some larger fishing vessels had determined it was “not worth going out for lobster right now” given that lower prices were simply worsening the financial squeeze imposed on the sector by still-high gasoline and diesel prices. However, Keith Carroll, the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance’s (BCFA) vice-president, told Tribune Business that while lobster prices have fallen “tremendously” it was too early to determine if this was a trend that will be sustained for the entire season. He added that the industry will have a better read of the situation in another week to two weeks, when several larger fishing vessels are due to return to port.
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PM ‘not telling full story’ on BPL subsidy millions By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Opposition’s leader yesterday accused the Prime Minister of “not telling the full story” after the latter confirmed the Government is “spending millions each month” to minimise electricity costs for households and businesses. Michael Pintard told Tribune Business that Philip Davis QC was giving Bahamians a misleading impression that his administration was saving them “a substantial amount of money” by using taxpayer dollars to subsidise
MICHAEL PINTARD Bahamas Power & Light’s (BPL) fuel costs. On the same day that Shevonn Cambridge, BPL’s chief executive, last week declined to confirm to this newspaper whether
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Crowdfunded restaurant eyes $2m 2023 top-line By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN restaurant entrepreneur yesterday said he ultimately plans to return 50 percent of profits to shareholders after his successful crowdfund raise paved the way to secure a second location and production/distribution centre. Chef Kevin Culmer, founder of Tropical Gyros, told Tribune Business he aims to open his second restaurant by December 1 in JFK Drive’s RND Plaza at the former Cafe Negril site. The production centre will be based in the same plaza, bit a different unit,
and is being targeted for an earlier October 1, 2022, opening with the combined expansion set to create some 20 jobs. Disclosing that recruitment for these posts will start within two weeks, he revealed that he has not given up hope of securing a third Tropical Gyros location in the Carmichael Road area - possibly as early as January/February 2023 - if the right location can be secured. Chef Culmer, telling this newspaper that he has been frustrated to-date in his search for the right site in both that area and Cable Beach, said sales from
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Extra 14,500 Bahamians to benefit in $31m clinic spend By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN EXTRA 14,500 Bahamians will benefit from the Government’s decision to expand its investment in Family Island public health clinics by more than 50 percent, it has been revealed. An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) paper seen by Tribune Business reveals that the addition of $5.7m in European Union (EU) grant monies, and the repurposing of some $5.862m from the original loan, will enable the Government to double the number of newly-built and upgraded clinics to 18 in its “biggest public healthcare investment for 15 years”. The repurposing, combined with the extra money, is set to increase the investment in the clinics, their medical equipment and fitout by some 54.5 percent above what was initially conceived, taking this from $20m to almost $30.9m - a rise of nearly $11m.
In doing so, the IDB report projected that the expanded network of clinic upgrades will touch and benefit more Bahamians, especially residents on Family Islands, increasing the number impacted from 60,000 to 74,500. And it estimated that 220,000 will benefit from moving the National Reference Laboratory to an upgraded facility. The IDB is providing the bulk of the necessary financing through two loans, worth a combined $60m, with the EU grant taking the available funding pool to more than $65m. “The Ministry of Health and Wellness has embarked on essential upgrades to public health and primary care services,” the multilateral lender’s paper said. “With IDB support, it will invest the sum of $60m during the next four years through two investment loans that complement each other. In more than 15 years, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has not invested in this scale to strengthen and modernise
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