Climate shifts, higher fuel prices and past offshore actions and policies are threatening livelihoods and the island’s traditional sources of fish, fishers have told Barbados TODAY.
They warned that without decisive action, Barbados risks further setbacks in a sector that has long been a source of protein, employment and cultural identity.
As winter approaches, traditional fish spawning patterns in the Caribbean are being disrupted, raising alarm among fishers. At the Berinda Cox Fish Market on Tuesday, Victor Drayton, a seasoned fisherman turned vendor, explained how changes in the reef and ocean conditions are affecting generations of fish.
He said: “If a generation of fish have a path that where they go and conjugate and spawn, when that path get blocked or changed, that last generation, when that change, the next generation where they find some way to conjugate, the next generation or the current take the eggs and shift them someplace else. That generation that born would not find back that navigation path.”
This disruption, coupled with environmental shifts and industry pressures, has contributed to falling catches across key species.
“We’ve seen a significant drop in our catch, especially for the main fish. Flying fish are smaller, and dolphin fish are also smaller,” Drayton said. He expressed frustration that the industry’s main challenges are often ignored. “When you raise these issues in meetings, they just collect information, but no real help comes,” he added.
Drayton spoke of pressures ranging from environmental shifts to bureaucratic hurdles.
“You can see the drop in certain catches. We see currents changing. We see temperature changing. But we can see the exploring of the ocean,” he explained. He also cited past oil and gas exploration, stating that “before that, we have real boats come out here doing dredging for oil and gas … that’s where the more heavier damage to the fishing industry has come.”
The financial realities of fishing add to the difficulty. Fuel costs, limited access to duty-free fuel for long trips, and the overheads of maintaining boats make it increasingly hard to sustain operations.
“When people say that the flying fish is small, because … your expenses when the year come, people have to pay back the bank and think for the boat,” he said. “If you help me to catch fish, that means I can feed myself and I can feed somebody else. By giving me money and then I still am back at the same place … I need to continue.”
Other fishermen echoed Drayton’s concerns. At the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, David Webster described venturing as far as 370 miles in search of fish. “Any fish that does swim, I catch. Dolphin, jacks, tuna, flying fish, turpits. Everything I see, I catch,” he said. He added that while some fishermen follow fish migrations using a satellite system on their boats, he relies mostly on experience and observation rather than equipment to track the fish.
Michael Davis, a fisherman of more than 30 years, described this season as unusually slow. “This is the slowest in all of my fishing years,” he said. Davis also noted how fish behaviour is affected by changing ocean temperatures, impacting migration patterns and availability.
“Sometimes you catch fish in warmer water, and sometimes in cold water. Fish move with the food capacity. If the food capacity going south, they’re gonna go south, if they go north, they go north,” he explained. He also mentioned that a lot of the boats are still damaged, which has kept many fishermen on land instead of out at sea.
Veteran fisherman Owen “Accra” Coppin, with four decades of experience, reported similar challenges. While he catches a range of species including jacks, tunas, marlins and swordfish, he noted that dolphin and flying fish were harder to locate.
“That means you’ll need more fuel to have to go find them all this,” he said. He mentioned that he doesn’t go over 300 miles and that he stays a little over 200 miles.
The fishermen’s accounts underline an urgent need for sustained support, both from government and industry organisations, to protect a vital sector. With upcoming consultations and potential policy changes, the fishing community is watching closely, hoping for measures that will safeguard their livelihoods and help the industry navigate the challenges ahead.
Without this intervention, Drayton warned: “The fishing industry is suffering, and if we don’t get the help, the death of it will only speed up.”
laurynescamilla@barbadostoday.bb
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