FROM
CUBA
Cubans
banned from fishing
HAVANA, August 13 (www.cubanet.org) - Cubans
outside the official government fishing fleet
may not fish, or buy or sell seafood, and scofflaws
find themselves paying stiff fines.
Police recently searched travelers going from
the fishing port of Batabanó, in the south
coast of Havana province, and the capital, and
found several of them carried fish, shrimp, and
about a dozen lobsters.
The travelers and their seafood were taken to
the police station in San Antonio de las Vegas,
where they were fined 500 pesos each for transporting
illegal merchandise.
A 27-year-old fisherman among them, Gilberto
Suárez, argued that God made fish to feed
mankind and refused to sign the citation. Police
imposed the fine anyway and also booked him for
disobedience.
Fishermen who go fishing at night make sure they
return before dawn to evade police patrolling
the coast, who confiscate their catch and impose
heavy fines.
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