Canadian clothing manufacturer fined $50K for illegal dredging in Bahamas

A judge in the Bahamas has fined a Canadian clothing manufacturer $50,000 for violating a court order to stop dredging near his beachfront home. (Photo by Toglenn – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,)

NASSAU, Bahamas—A judge in the Bahamas has fined a Canadian clothing manufacturer $50,000 for violating a court order to stop dredging near his beachfront home.

The environmental group Save the Bays, which brought the case against Peter Nygard, calls the ruling “an extraordinary triumph for environmental justice in the Bahamas.”

In a statement, a lawyer for the group says Supreme Court Justice Rhonda P. Bain has found Nygard in contempt of court for violating her 2013 order to stop the dredging.

Lawyer Fred Smith says Nygard has nearly doubled the size of his property over the years by digging up sand and placing it along his beachfront.

Smith says the judge has given Nygard until March 21st to pay the fine or be sent to prison for two weeks.

Officials for Nygard were not immediately available for comment.