On April 23, the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) approved the landmark Tobago Marine Parks Bill 2026 during a special sitting held at the Assembly Chamber in Scarborough. The date of the vote carried profound symbolic weight: it marked the eighth birthday that Angelica Saydee Jogie, a young child killed in a high-profile jet ski collision off Tobago’s Pigeon Point beach in April, would have celebrated.
Angelica lost her life on April 8 when an out-of-bounds jet ski collided with her and her family during what was meant to be a pre-birthday getaway. Speaking ahead of the vote, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, who sponsored the bill, reflected on the tragedy that pushed forward this long-stalled legislation. The family had traveled to Tobago specifically because the island represented joy, peace and natural beauty to their children, Augustine noted. What should have been a celebratory trip turned into an unthinkable nightmare for the Jogie family, he added, joining their call for urgent regulation of unregulated recreational watercraft after the incident. Angelica’s mother Salisha Jogie has repeatedly called for a full ban on jet skis across Tobago’s public swimming beaches in the wake of her daughter’s death.
The core purpose of the new bill is to establish a formal, enforceable legislative framework for the protection, adaptive management and sustainable use of all of Tobago’s marine protected areas. It aims to preserve fragile coastal biodiversity, secure marine ecosystems for future generations, and clarify enforcement powers to crack down on unsafe or illegal watercraft activity in designated swimming zones. Key enforcement provisions outline steep penalties for anyone who interferes with authorized inspectors – including police officers and Coast Guard personnel – carrying out their official duties under the law. Individuals convicted of obstructing enforcement face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 12 months of imprisonment, sending a clear signal about the seriousness of regulatory compliance.
Augustine confirmed that following the THA’s approval, the bill will move to Trinidad and Tobago’s national Parliament for final consideration within the next two to three weeks. He noted that while the legislation shares core foundations with a 2020 bill drafted when the People’s National Movement (PNM) controlled the THA, the previous PNM-led national government allowed the proposal to languish for years without action. He criticized former PNM Prime Minister Keith Rowley for publicly calling for a jet ski ban after leaving office, pointing out that Rowley’s own administration failed to advance the necessary legislation when it had the power to do so. Augustine emphasized that the THA can only set policy; enforceable national law is required to put that policy into practice, a point Rowley omitted in his post-office commentary.
The Chief Secretary also raised pointed concerns about ongoing enforcement gaps at the popular Buccoo Reef Marine Park, noting that just one week after Angelica’s death, jet ski operators were still found operating illegally in zones marked exclusively for swimmers. He accused the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) of failing to intervene against these trespassing operators, warning that if any future incident leads to legal action against the THA, his administration will direct its legal team to shift responsibility to the Attorney General and the national central government. Augustine argued that the THA has fulfilled its duty by creating policy, running public education campaigns and marking restricted zones, but it cannot enforce rules without the full backing of national law and active cooperation from national law enforcement agencies, which have left the THA unable to act effectively to date.