Assembly Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson said when selling land for tourism it was important to ensure non-Bermudians didn't make all the profits and bring in a lot of overseas people to work in the industry.

He said he had ruled out the idea of marine parks because it would require too big an area and would deprive others of the right to fish there.

Government would continue to ensure maximum public access to beaches and had recently bought land in Flatts.

Shadow Environment Minister Gary Pitman said the 495 page green paper was an encyclopaedia which would not be accessible to ordinary Bermudians, however, it was a worthy document which should be kept in schools.

He described the second paragraph of the document referring to an immigration policy that was "simply reckless'' as a "political cheapshot''.

He asked: "How many fishing licences have gone to non-Bermudians? None, so why is the minister to blame expats for Bermuda exceeding its carrying capacity, whatever that means. By that statement he is bringing the whole concept of sustainable development into disrepute.'' Mr. Pitman said the UBP took the tough decision to ban fish pots in 1990 and claimed his party were the "owners of sustainable development. The green paper reinforces the wise decisions of the UBP''.

Warwick West MP Elvin James said the problem with marine management plans of the past was that fishermen did not embrace them. This would not be the case this time.

Of the 200 licensed fishermen, 65 were commercial and under an obligation to report where and when they caught their stocks. There were around 6,000 recreational fishermen yet the reporting was coming from just 200 boats.

He said there was evidence that fish pots remained in place despite the ban and called for an amnesty to allow fishermen, who were too scared to go near them, to remove them.

He said Government should get rid of the lobster licences for divers which allowed them to two of the creatures each day.

The PLP backbencher continued that marine biology classes should be mandatory at school and that parents must teach their children only to kill fish if it is to eat.

Shadow Development, Opportunity and Government Services Minister Allan Marshall said the green paper was the first thing the PLP had brought which was in the public interest.

Declaring he had a business interest in a waste water company, he said Island households and business waste an incredible five million imperial gallons of waste water every day -- 165 gallons per household.

He recommended Government insist that in future all imported toilets have a 1.5 gallon flush rather than three or five gallons. Shower heads should be low flow and washing machines low volume.

The Smith's North MP suggested the Corporation of St. George's should link up with a sewage and treatment facility at Southside rather than build a new one to save money and building inconvenience.

He said there was concern about condominium complexes built near the shore and suggested every new development of four to five units should in the future be forced to have sewage treatment plants prior to discharge and that the water go into bore holes.

Shadow Minister of Tourism David Dodwell said the document did not contain enough input from members of the public and he said an executive summary of the 495-page report should have been made available to both ministers and the press.

Mr. Dodwell said there were four areas of main concern to him.

He said Bermuda did not market itself or its waters enough when trying to attract tourists here. Cruise ships, he said, should only take up 25 per cent of our tourist trade, and not a third, as at the moment. And he said an official policy on cruise ships was needed.

He added: "I believe 25 percent cruise ship, 75 percent air is the right balance. I don't think the Government has got it right.

"We have more ships that want to come here than we have room for. We can afford to say `no, we are not taking large ships.'' The shadow tourism minister went on to ask Mr. Hodgson to make his thoughts on fish pots known and to say publicly that they supported the ban on fish pots to stop the uncertainty about their future.

And he said the report was ambiguous when it talked about the growing population of Bermuda damaging its future, and he said it was unfair to blame over-development on foreigners.

He added: "It says the previous policy on immigration was simply reckless.

Reckless on who? If you're saying only indigenous people should be here, that would mean many of us would not be here now.'' Environment green paper And the shadow minister said he also wanted to see more marine national parks developed and greater attention and education made available on the damage anchors can cause when dropped on coral reef.

Bermuda Tourist Board chairman Delaey Robinson said a policy on cruise ships was being drawn up and would be circulated within due course.

PLP member Neletha Butterfield praised the Green Paper and said she believed the way forward in protecting marine life was by educating the young.

She added: "We want to get our young people to learn about the fishing industry and how to protect it. We should get them to learn about marine life.'' Patricia Gordon-Pamplin appealed for boat operator licences to be introduced and also said the document lacked conclusions, solutions and direction. She also criticised the many grammatical errors throughout it.

She also said there needed to be some monitoring of noise pollution on the water, standards set for businesses running charter fishing trips and she called for advertising dollars to be better spent promoting marine life on the Island.

And she too called on the PLP to make clear its feelings on the fish pot ban.

She said: "It's incumbent on us to be seen to be standing firm on issues and not flip flopping around.'' PLP MP Stanley Morton said the way forward was for Bermuda to "constantly seek out potential revenues'' using its waters and beautiful marine life.

Maverick UBP MP Trevor Moniz attacked Mr. Hodgson's record and said his noble words did not measure up when compared to his actions in the past.

He said as a minister, Mr. Hodgson had given fishing licences back to those who had lost them; that he was soft on fishing offences as a magistrate; and that as a lawyer he had represented people on fishing charges.

"His behaviour as an attorney, as a magistrate, and as a minister, simply doesn't measure up to his words in this House,'' said Mr. Moniz.

"We should be comforted (by his words) but once we know his history we are not comfortable with his words.

"Only a year ago he was saying there was no such thing as sustainable development and now he's marching around talking about sustainable development. Does he believe it, or is he just saying things that are politic? "Members here are extremely concerned about that member. History clearly shows that fish pots had to be outlawed.

"There are tons of fish pots out there and he needs to be firm and I am not convinced that the member is firm. His history shows he is soft.'' Claiming something had to be done about the hundreds of illegal fish pots, he claimed Mr. Hodgson was "fiddling while Rome burns''.

The Smith's South MP, who is a trustee of the Maritime Museum said it was irresponsible for divers to bring up trophies from wrecks which were not conserved.

He added that although the House had an adversarial system, members had to refrain from launching personal attacks on each other.

Accusing Government of repeatedly dodging answering questions on issues such as over-sized cars, he said: "I'm tired of hearing every week each time a criticism is made on this side when a statement is made, their response is `You can't prove it'. It really is an admission when you put that excuse.'' Tourism Minister David Allen said Mr. Moniz's "personal attack'' on Mr.

Hodgson was unfair. As a lawyer, Mr. Hodgson had a duty to represent clients.

"Look at most converts, they are more fervent believers that those born to the faith. The green community should take heart from that,'' said Mr. Allen.

He accused the opposition of "empty carping and whining''. The green paper was supposed to be a discussion paper, and the UBP would have complained if it contained solid proposals, he said.

His department was linking up with dive shops to promote diving. He did not believe in "looting'' dive sites, but they should be open as an attraction for tourists.

Government was putting together eco-tourism packages. He revealed new designs for the Daniel's Head tented eco-project would include glass floors in the rooms which sat on stilts over the water which would be illuminated at night.

He said he hoped an advertising slogan of `Come to Bermuda and see the world's greatest floor show' could be developed.

Government had decided against mega cruise ships because of the strain they would put on the land environment and possibly on the reefs.

Tourism had also cut back on the proliferation of multiple port cruise routes on the Island because of the sand and silt churned up by huge boats cruising to different destinations on the island.

His department's cruise policy would be ready by the end of the year, he promised. He added that he had been in touch with the management of two cruise companies looking at the possibility of smaller cruise ships being designed specifically for Bermuda.

Former Tourism minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge said that under the UBP, Bermuda had been given the prestigious Smithsonian award for environmental protection for initiatives such as the fish pot ban.

He implored Government to cut back on the number of cruise ships because they bring little to the Island's economy and are bad for the environment.

See tomorrow for the conclusion of Friday night's debate