environmental sensitivity, but on one key issue, it got it exactly right: the ban on fishpots.

Then-Environment Minister Ann Cartwright DeCouto steered the bill banning the pots through the House of Assembly and stuck to her guns against tough opposition because she, and her colleagues, were convinced it was the right thing to do.

The evidence of the success of the ban are all around the Island. A decade ago, the reefs resembled a marine desert while buyers of fresh fish could never be certain what was in the fillet they were buying.

Today, the situation is better. No one would dispute that certain types of fish populations are recovering, although the success rate seems to vary.

Last Friday, Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson said that if scientific studies showed that fish stocks were stabilising, Government would consider lifting the ban on fishpots.

There were a lot of ifs and buts in the statement, and certainly Mr. Hodgson made no commitment. That was wise, and this would be a step which the Environment Ministry should take great care over.

Opposition MPs have noted that it is difficult to measure the exact state of recovery. Nor is it is clear whether reintroducing pots would put Bermuda back where it was in quick order.

But it seems likely that it takes much longer to rebuild fish stocks than it does to destroy them and it is also likely that allowing fishpots back would lead to disaster within a few years.

It is also clear that regulation of fishpots is difficult enough as it is while they are banned. Keeping an accurate count of takes and regulating different fish stocks would be next to impossible if the pots were reintroduced.

No one would suggest today that a drop in road deaths or impaired driving statistics should lead to dropping compulsory crash helmets or the breathalyser. The same philosophy holds true for fishpots. Having decimated fish stocks, they should never be allowed back.

HOTEL PACT Hotel pact After years of labour strife and contentious negotiations, the Hotel Employers of Bermuda and the Bermuda Industrial Union have signed a full three-year agreement without third party intervention.

For that, they deserve credit. The community can only hope that it is not too little, too late.

Neither side has revealed the details of the pact (and they should do so quickly), but they have agreed to work towards a gain-sharing scheme and say they recognise that visitors need to receive better value for their money.

If workers can see a financial benefit from rising hotel occupancies and profits, that should be a major incentive to provide better service. And better service -- without strikes -- should help to boost occupancies.

This agreement may be the last chance for hoteliers and workers to get their industry back on its feet; they should take it.