Government looks set to push ahead with longline fishing in the 200-mile Economic Exclusion Zone, according to a planning application by the Department of Environmental Protection.

It says plans for a fish processing and storage facility in the East End will kickstart the commercial fishing industry in Bermuda, with marketing and export support available for "large pelagics".

The centre, at Ship's Wharf in Southside, will offer close proximity to the airport and will include 'duty-free' gear for sale and reduced duty fuel. It will serve as a staging point for high seas vessels heading into the EEZ.

In a letter to Planning, Dr. Fred Ming, Director of Environmental Protection, says the facility will be "essential to the development and success of an offshore longline fishery within Bermuda's 200-mile Economic Exclusion Zone".

Government has been exploring the feasibility of commercial longline fishing and made four trial expeditions into the EEZ with the US longline vessel Eagle Eye II in early 2007.

The 2005 White Paper 'The Marine Environment and the Fishing Industry in Bermuda' stated: "Should the findings prove favourable, Government will encourage pelagic longline fishing for tuna, swordfish and other species. International regulations and quotas may apply and these will be taken into consideration when deciding upon the total number of licences to be issued."

A Green Paper has yet to go before Cabinet. However, environmentalists claim longline fishing is harmful to wildlife as the hooks in the lines trap other animals such as sea-turtles and sharks the process known as by-catch.

The new fishing facility at Stokes Point will be the first of two centres, the second to be located in the West End, at South Basin Wharf in Dockyard.

According to the planning application, the 3,000 sq ft pre-fabricated 'Shoreside Facility' will include a loading dock, processing hall, packaging, air blast unit, cold storage room, fishing gear shop and ice machines capable of producing three tons of flake ice daily.

If approved, it will be the first time the East End has housed marine-product processing since whales on Smith's Island in the late 1800s.

In a letter to the Department of Planning, the Ministry of Works and Engineering writes: "The establishment of two support facilities for the commercial fishery was one of several fishery-related initiatives supported by Parliament on November 25, 2005.

"The prime role of said facilities will be to provide certain basic services to the fishery, services once offered by the former 'Sargasso' project at Morgan's Point (1979-1991)."

Government will lease the land from the Bermuda Land Development Corporation and earmarked $650,000 for the venture in the 2006-7 Budget. While Government will provide the initial funding, it eventually expects the private sector "to operate the facility as a commercial venture on a lease basis".

The Ministry's letter states: "The East End offers the prime requisite of location. Apart from being in easy reach of fishermen by water and road, it offers the additional advantage of being five minutes by road from the airport.

"The facility will thus be an ideal site to stage fish exports from Bermuda. As witnessed during the recent 'Eagle Eye II Project', logistics means almost everything when handling modest-to-large amounts of perishable product."

The 'proposed repertoire of services' includes "marketing for large pelagics" "glut catches currently encountered such as wahoos and tunas, and to those species that doubtless will be encountered through greater oceanic effort into our 200-mile EEZ, such as swordfish, tunas, dolphin, certain sharks, etc. etc....," the Ministry writes.

"The emphasis at the outset will be in the marketing of Fresh Fish per se, and unlike the Sargasso model, the freezing stockpiling of large pelagics will give way to primary processing and packaging.

"Product that is not 'turned-around' in the whole state will be hand-portioned and vacuum-sealed in bags or pouches. Much of this will be sold 'fresh', while some will be blast-frozen, boxed and stored.

"This system offers benefits in that it is more versatile, offers higher quality to end-users, affords greater market penetration and will be more efficient and thus more economical to operate. Furthermore, usable offaly, namely racks and skins can be ground into chum and/or blast-frozen in boxes for lobstermen always seeking good bait."

The facility will serve as a fresh fish market. Fishermen can also take advantage of 'duty-free' gear and supplies, such as rope, insulated chests, buoys, work-knives, cutting boards, ice-scoops and foul weather wear. Government also intends to make fuel and 'lube-oil' available at a reduced duty rate.

The landing post will enable "the local fishery to be intimately involved with the growth of the high-seas sector as it evolves".

The Ministry adds: "The export market must be regarded as an integral feature of the greater picture as it applies to increasing our presence, hence productivity, in our EEZ. This facility will certainly aid the smaller, high seas vessels, while larger vessels are generally self-contained operations."

Government acknowledges that expansion will depend on the backing of local fishermen. The Ministry's letter says: "Confidence in this objective (Phase Two) can only be claimed pending the full understanding and commitment of the commercial fishermen for whom this entire project is engineered to assist.

"To this end, the Consultant fervently recommends full and frank discussions with the commercial operators to avoid any misgivings or misinterpretations of what could and should be 'a very good thing' for local fishermen and consumers of local fish alike".

In an accompanying letter to Planning, Director Dr. Ming says: "This facility will provide important economic relief/assistance to the established inshore fishery.

"However, it is essential to the development and success of an offshore longline fishery within Bermuda's 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone."

One recreational fisherman, who did not wish to be named, said: "I can't see any market outside of Bermuda which would be prepared to pay the price that Bermuda's fish would be. The price of fresh fish in the US is a lot less than here, and when you add up the cost of freight, it will be a lot more than a lot of people may be prepared to spend. So I can't see much of an export market at the moment."

n Are you a commercial fisherman? What do you think of the proposals? Contact us at: news@royalgazette.bm