for restricting them while allowing importers to flood the market.

One group of fishermen, who didn't wish to be named, said the ban on fishing inside the reef meant restaurants had to buy abroad to meet demand. And they said the lifting of the restriction on December 1 came too late as the tourist industry was dead by that time.

One angler said: "Whatever catch they had today wouldn't take care of the Island. It wouldn't even take care of one restaurant. But if they allowed fisherman to go where the lobsters are they could have local lobsters the first day of the season. If a lot of lobsters came in with all these fishermen that would mean all these lobsters they imported wouldn't be sold.

"People will take a Bermuda lobster before they take a foreign lobster.

That's the unfortunate thing. The lobsters are inside but the Government pushes you out on the edge but there aren't lobsters out there, they are inside the reefs.'' Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson said he was surprised to hear about the fishermen's complaints.

He explained that the restrictions, put together after research, were to stop overfishing.