US$250,000 trawler sets sail for SVG

The “S-Marie-R”, the first of the long line fishing vessels which are being made available to local fishermen through a revolving loan fund, is on its way to St. Vincent.{{more}}

The trawler, which was built by the Tajoma Astillero shipyard in Merida, Mexico, set sail for St. Vincent on Tuesday, June 16th, with four crew members.

The top of the line trawler, called a “cobralinea”, is made of fiberglass and was sourced by Vincentian company

K.P. Marine Ltd., which acted as anintermediary for the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The trawler was handed over to Keith Howard of K.P. Marine on Tuesday.

The trawler, which was built at a cost of US$250,000, is equipped with a Yahama diesel motor with a capacity for nine tonnes of oil and 3,600 litres of diesel. It has good radio communications and accommodations for six crew members.

In 2008, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines announced the availability of EC$6 million as a revolving fund, to facilitate affordable access to financing for local fishermen, so that they could invest in larger (long line) vessels.

Chief Fisheries Officer Raymond Ryan in an interview with Searchlight last year described these vessels as “key” to the take off of the fishing industry here. Ryan told Searchlight then, that the 43-foot vessels can carry up to 10,000 pounds of fish and can stay out to sea for up to seven days.

Last year, Ryan told Searchlight that 25 fishermen were being trained in the operation of these vessels and that financing had already been approved for six fishermen, and six others had applied.