Bahamas fires warning shots, detains Dominican fishermen
NASSAU, Bahamas – The Royal Bahamas Defence Force says one of its ships fired warning shots to stop two fishing boats from the Dominican Republic suspected of poaching in the south of the island chain and then detained their crews.
A Defence Force statement Thursday says HMBS Madeira spotted the fishing vessels and fired warning shots. It says the Dominican boats tried to flee and one of them attempted to ram the Bahamian patrol vessel in 12-foot seas. The boats then stopped.
Sailors from the Madeira boarded the vessels and detained 50 Dominican nationals and an undisclosed quantity of fish that officials believe was illegally harvested in Bahamian waters.
The incident occurred Wednesday about 27 miles east-southeast of Cay Lobos. The Dominican vessels and the crew were being taken to the capital, Nassau.
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