A newly formed fishermen’s organisation says it is committing to work closely with the government in the new year to improve working conditions and strengthen the fishing sector.
The Black Fin Fleet was established in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, after fishermen felt they were not receiving adequate representation, particularly boat owners, captains and agents.
Leader of the organisation, Moonesh Dharampaul, said early engagement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has already yielded results, especially in addressing infrastructure challenges at landing sites.
“We plan to work closely with the minister to ensure that the landing site, the infrastructure for the landing sites is a lot better,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“We have been having a challenge with the buildings and bathrooms and whatnot, and we have had a very good response from the minister, and the permanent secretary, who have gone out of their way to ensure that a new compressor is being put in Bridgetown to help to maintain the level of ice.”
Dharampaul said the organisation currently represents just under 200 stakeholders across the industry.
“I represent close to 200 boat owners, captains, agents, and fishermen. The other organisations don’t necessarily represent the boat owners; they represent what you would call vendors and stuff like that, and we felt that there was room for representation of the boat owners, captains and agents,” he explained.
Since the group’s formation, Dharampaul said tangible progress has been made.
However, he revealed that access to ice remains critical to keeping boats at sea.
“We’re looking to maintain those machines that produce ice, with the help of the minister and the permanent secretary, to ensure that we can go fishing because if we don’t have any ice, no boats can be out there,” Dharampaul said.
In addition to infrastructure concerns, the organisation is also working towards securing a commercial fishing insurance policy ahead of anticipated regulatory changes.
Dharampaul explained that existing insurance products do not adequately cover commercial fishing operations.
“The Black Fin Fleet will also be engaging in negotiations for a commercial fishing policy. As you know, in 2027, I believe the insurance will come in for the commercial fishing boats to be compliant with insurance. However, there are a number of challenges with that because the insurance sector in Barbados is not fit for purpose,” he noted.
“Their policies do not cover commercial fishing. So while we have been negotiating a rate of three per cent on the comprehensive insurance with the General Insurance Association of Barbados, the next part of that situation is that we want to ensure that we have a commercial fishing policy. We don’t have that right now.”
Dharampaul also announced plans to launch a public education campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the risks faced by fishermen and their role in national food security.
He said the campaign will also focus on changing perceptions of those in the industry and advocating for greater respect.
“We want to lead a campaign in the new year where we are sensitising the public to how the role of a fisherman works when he’s on the water, because you could imagine that every day you put your life on the line to provide food for the nation, and it’s food security right now, it’s something important,” Dharampaul said the campaign will also focus on changing perceptions of those in the industry and advocating for greater respect.
“We want to lead a campaign in the new year where we are sensitising the public to how the role of a fisherman works when he’s on the water because you could imagine that every day you put your life on the line, to provide, a food for the nation, and it’s food security right now, it’s something important,” Dharampaul said.
He maintained that public understanding was often shaped by incomplete statistics.
“When you talk to Fisheries, they will give you a number, they will tell you, ‘Ok, we have 80 per cent of the fleet back on the water’, but they don’t tell you how much of those are long liners, how much of those are ice boats, how much of those are outboards, because each boat fishes for a different species,” Dharampaul pointed out.
This lack of detail, he noted, affects consumer expectations at the market.
“They always say well, why am I not getting flying fish in the market? It’s so scarce. Well, we don’t have enough ice boats out there.”
Additionally, Dharampaul said the organisation wants those in the sector to be recognised as Blue Economy professionals, “because we fall into the Blue Economy and we are moving away from using the word fisherfolk.”
Explaining the rationale, he said fishing requires specialised skills learned through experience.
“The reason for that is that I can’t take you right now into the market and tell you to scale a fish. You have to learn how to do that. That’s a learning curve. You can’t go to the university, and they’re gonna teach you how to catch the tuna. It is something you have to learn on the job,” Dharampaul said.
He said a shift in language could help elevate the status of those working in the industry.
“I think if we want to respect the persons that work in the fishing industry and we want to say that we’re going to give them the accolades, then we should change the way how we approach the situation, because at the end of the day they say that names matter.”
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