1st big wahoo trip of fall

[CAPTINMITCH]

Originally Posted by Thunderstruck

there is a lot of discussion on this subject. I have it directly from a personal friend high up in the us coast guard, that the 12 mile limit is observed from the closest fully exsposed land mass (at high tide) which is memory rock, to the south , and almost walkers to the east. the bahamian's may consider the bank within their territorial waters, but the u.s. does not, and neither does anyone else. as long as you stay 12 out from those points, you are good to go...kind of makes sense why there is very little if any bahamian or u.s. patrols that far north. you may get checked coming west by the uscg, but it's always about smuggling, either illegals or drugs. I would never stop in international waters for anything but the uscg for any reason, period. Unlike some, we always check in when going to walkers or westend, and I have the reciepts and immigration stamps to prove it. thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

Your 'friend' is wrong, but if you're willing to bet your boat and/or a Lacey act violation on it, be my guest.
12nm from the bank. There was a thread about it on FS.

[BillFish32]

Originally Posted by CAPTINMITCH

Your 'friend' is wrong, but if you're willing to bet your boat and/or a Lacey act violation on it, be my guest.
12nm from the bank. There was a thread about it on FS.

Well, international Law, strictly speaking, is not exactly clear on the subject (clear as mud in politician speak). I pulled this quote, which illustrates how much effective guidance the UN gives on the topic...

"Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea[1], is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below.

The term "territorial waters" is also sometimes used informally to describe any area of water over which a state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and potentially the continental shelf."

I think territorial waters is anything a given country wants to define it as. When in Rome........

[Snookher]

No whoo on the ledge this weekend. The bite was dead. No signs of birds or tuna. had a tough time catching anything. Deep Drop bite was slow. reef bite was almost nonexistant and only thing we could find was yellowtail snapper in 95 feet. Guess You hit the moon and tides just right. we fished the falling tide for them but the fish just were not active this weekend. we'll try again later on in season.

[Harry Klauber]

Bill,
Much ambiguity because of the EEZ which is "usually" defined as 200 miles from a country's coast. Since between the US and the Bahamas there isn't 400 miles of separation the US and Bahamian EEZ is defined as an imaginary line 1/2 way between the two land masses that zigs and zags according to coastal irregularities so there is no over lapping. With that said a country can control anything within it's EEZ that has an economic effect on it, such as harvesting the fish that live in the sea. I believe the bottom line to be that the Bahmians "could", if they had the resources and inclination, enforce the EEZ as they saw fit which would mean mandatory checking in for any boat that was found in the zone. It has never been their policy to patrol the area that is referred to as "the corner", and they might never start, but it's the belief of most that checking in before you fish is the only safe way to do things. The argument about 12 miles from a visible land mass, or 12 miles from "the bank" I believe to be moot as the EEZ trumps both.

In the case of the Bahamas I believe your last sentence to be most accurate, "I think territorial waters is anything a given country wants to define it as". Harry

[GT Fish]

I have saw the old bahamian deisel patrol the corner..This was years ago and they were slow and we had a very fast boat....We called it the smoker,you could see the smoke from miles away.. Used to scan with binoculars back then..

[Harry Klauber]

Originally Posted by GT Fish

I have saw the old bahamian deisel patrol the corner..This was years ago and they were slow and we had a very fast boat....We called it the smoker,you could see the smoke from miles away.. Used to scan with binoculars back then..

If it was their intent to really catch anyone they could do it with one helicopter and some fancy equipment that would profile every boat they flew over. Once linked to U.S. computers and patrols there would be no way to escape. Everyone makes their own decisions when they make these trips and the more people post about running over and back the better the chances someone is going to get caught. Even if they incorrectly confiscate your boat and equipment, and you win a court case in the Bahamas (lots of luck with that one), it's a guaranty your equipment is gone forever and your boat is returned to you stripped. It's how it goes over there and people need to understand the risks before they make the trip. I'm not trying to suggest what anyone should do, just trying to make the people that don't understand how no one can really interpret the rules and what the possible consequences could be. It's a foreign country so it's not like getting stopped by the State Patrol in Florida. Harry

[GT Fish]

I'm not condoning anyone going and chancing losing there boat..Like i said this was years ago..I would't risk it these days they have 3 new go-fast boats they added to the fleet so don't be fooled into thinking they will never patrol thos waters...

[BillFish32]

Agreed Harry. When they stopped us in my boat at West End in April it was the US CG with a single Bahamian aboard. No violations, no probable cause (other than Franklin giving them shit for cutting into "wine time") and they searched the entire boat. Top to bottom, bilges including. They don't really care about having a reason over there

bill

[bajakian]

Nice report and Great Catch! Way to go Jay and Tom and Company!!!

[Thunderstruck]

thanks richard, how was cabo? and be careful, big brother could be watching!

[bajakian]

Jay what happens in Cabo stays in Cabo. But the fishing was great. caught a Blue Marlin, some nice Tuna to 85 lbs and some big dorado to over 40 lbs. Maybe next year you can jump on with us-its a blast!

[Brand H]

Just to add another wrinkle to this...I just got back from the Bahamas Wednesday. I cleared at West End and fished white sands and the corner. I always clear customs. To me, it is not worth the risk and I don't have the time or energy to fight a charge if I were cited. I love my boat and don't want to lose it or have it stripped upon return. I figure, if I can afford to go over there then I can afford the $150 and the extra gas. By the way, and this is a personal view, but I feel that if I go over there and catch the Bahamian's fish, then I should pay them $150 for that privledge. Otherwise I would feel like I am stealing.

So for the wrinkle...when I returned to Burt Reynolds, FWC was at the dock and asked to check my fish. I told them that I had just arrived from the Bahamas and that I didn't fish in US waters or state waters for that matter. They asked for proof that I had been there and I gave them my paper work. They said OK, you are good to go but we want to see your fish anyway. I showed them and they said "nice catch" and asked some other trivial questions just to make small talk while my buddy got the boat. While we were talking, the officer said yeah...some guys came in earlier today and had a bunch of fish. They said that they had been in the islands but didn't have proof of being there so we had to apply our laws to their catch. They were way over the limit and got some very serious fines.

So I said all of that to say...legal or illegal if you don't clear you better follow the rules we have here or face the consequences should you get caught.

Anyhow, I know this thread is severly derailed but this is a useful discussion. Congrats on some awesome wahoo and tuna!!!

[lt20]

Good point. What did you catch? Thanks for sharing!