Almost six months after Hurricane Beryl tore through Barbados, decimating the island’s fishing fleet, fisherfolk said the recovery at sea level is dragging, with boat repairs, ice supplies and bait shortages still slowing their return to full operations, despite government assistance and ongoing repair work at the main markets.
Leader of the Black Fin Fleet, an organisation formed by fishermen, Moonesh Dharampaul, said he is pleased with the interaction between the government and fisherfolk in addressing their concerns.
“We have been able to speak with the minister and the permanent secretary, and we have been able to get help in that regard, and we are looking to work with them step by step as we go forward into the new year, but they have been working with us.”
But he noted that several challenges remain.
“We still face a number of challenges such as tuna boxes, the acquiring of bait and ice.”
The leader of the organisation also revealed that following an electrical fire at the fish market, the minister responsible for the blue economy responded swiftly to appeals for increased safety measures.
“He was there to make sure that everything was put in place. We do have challenges with getting stuff in place, but he has committed himself to saying we’re going to get fire extinguishers on the dock. We’re going to get first aid kits on the dock. That is something that we’re asking for, so we are seeing an evolution of the fishing industry and I think that that’s important because fishing is not going to be the same.”
Dharampaul further pointed to another obstacle facing fishermen — the inability to fish too close to Trinidad’s waters due to ongoing geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Venezuela.
“People can’t go too close to Trinidad . . . so we have to find alternative routes.”
Out of an abundance of caution, fishermen heading out to sea now use messaging app WhatsApp to allow them to stay in constant contact with their colleagues on land.
“There are a lot of good things that are coming as well, boats are gonna be having Starlink on them so that they can be in contact with the land and stuff like that. That’s something interesting because now I can reach out to a boat using WhatsApp and I can stay in contact with those guys 24/7. So that is something good.”
When Barbados TODAY visited fishermen on Harbour Road boat yard, one man who was in the process of repairing his boat said he received a one-time $12 000 grant towards repairs. However, he explained that the amount was insufficient to complete the work. He added that he has continued repairs on his own but would require an additional $15 000 to $20 000 to finish, a process he believes will take another four months.
Other fishermen at the Sand Pit said they have been able to repair their boats and return to sea, but shortages of ice and bait continue to limit how often they can go out.
Wayne Rose, one of the fishermen waiting his turn to head out to sea, said: “Fishing slow right now as a lot of boats not getting to go out and the ones going out the fish is very expensive due to the fact there are small catches. It’s like two boats a day getting ice now, it’s a setback. In Oistins, they had a setback as the jetty hasn’t been repaired since Beryl…”
Rose noted that current efforts are focused on the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex.
“Bridgetown still under a lot of repairs and the marine fixing the structure back with the jetties, it’s still a long process, right now I waiting for ice to go out. My booking is still Friday.”
He added that although his boat was repaired last year, operations remain slow.“It’s not 100 per cent, this year wasn’t a good year fishing due to the fact the facilities with the ice, to get ice to go fishing and how the climate change, it’s a lot of things going on.”
He believes the formation of the fledgling fishing organisation, Black Fin Fleet, has helped push progress.
“They getting things to look into the machine steady now trying to get, there is now a backlog with the boat functioning; we really need the machine to get the others to go to work, ’cause without ice you can’t go work.”
Another fisherman, Hendy Davis, said catches are expected to remain low during this season due to changes in sea temperature and tides.
“Years ago you get a lot of fish but not now because at this time flying fish and thing gone back, flying fish hard to get now, you would get red fish.”
He added that bait availability and sea conditions are also major challenges. (LG)
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