Two charged for violating MPA law

Enforcement training for a number of persons involved in the guarding of Marine Protected Areas has resulted in two fishermen being fined more than EC$4 000 after they were found guilty of spearfishing in the Moliniere/Beausejour Marine Protected Area (MBMPA) in 2012.

Recently, the Court found Bernard Jeremiah and Akim Bain guilty of violating the Marine Protected Area legislation, which makes it illegal for anything to be taken away as well as spearfishing to be done in a declared area.

The Brave Heart occupants, Bernard Jeremiah and Akim Bain.

Fish caught by Bernard Jeremiah and Akim Bain were
discovered on board a boat called ‘Brave Heart’.

At present, there are three declared Marine Protected Areas and the Moliniere/Beausejour location came under management in 2011. The other two are the Clarkes Court Bay in the south of the island and the Oyster Bed in Carriacou. The Moliniere/Beausejour protected area starts just north of Grand Mal Village and ends in the area close to Brizan Village. It is managed by a fisheries team which includes Marine Wardens, who are scheduled to patrol the area at unscheduled times to ensure that persons are not engaging in illegal activities.

Jeremiah and Bain were conducting the illegal fishing on board a boat named “Brave Heart” when they were caught by the marine wardens. The boat, the occupants and everything else were seized by police. The Court was informed that the boat was seen in the area previously and the occupants were informed and warned about the illegal activity.


Jeremiah was charged $2 000 while Bain whose matter was heard expat was charged $2 500. Both men were given two months to pay the fines. They each can be imprisoned for up to six months imprisonment if the fines are not paid.

Marine Wardens have attended a number of training workshops as Grenada steps up its activities to ensure that marine protected areas under management are efficiently managed and violators of the law are brought to justice.

The first training was held November 2011 in Grenada with participants from neighbouring St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This was part of a follow-up activity to the Training of Trainers workshop held in Belize earlier that year. In May 2012, an MPA promotional awareness programme was done for the communities within the MBMPA. All of these were funded by UNEP-CEP, Government of Italy and Caribbean Marine Protected Area Management (CaMPAM) Forum.

In August 2012, four wardens attended another enforcement workshop in Key West, which was funded by NOAA and CaMPAM.

Recently, an enforcement workshop was conducted in Carriacou for all wardens and management, which was part of a project funded by UNEP-CEP SPAW CaMPAM and the Italian Ministry. (LS)