Davyeon Muckette of Clare Valley won the top prize in the 2023 annual Fisherman’s Day celebrations which culminated at Calliaqua on Monday, May 29, Whit Monday, Competing in Class One of the competition, Muckette returned a catch of 644.81 pounds of fish. He also brought in the single heaviest fish with a weight of 42.75 pounds, captaining the boat, Defender.

Muckette told SEARCHLIGHT in an exclusive interview on Monday that he has been taking part in the competition for 18 years.

“For the competition this is the most I have ever brought in,” a beaming Muckette stated. He attributed this to the favourable weather conditions, experience gained over the years, and a determination to do better this year.

After witnessing the weighing of Muckette’s catch brought in by the fishers, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Saboto Caesar, expressed delight at the haul of fish brought in by Muckette, pointing out that he Muckette is one of the current cadre of young persons in the fishing industry, “and his work today is an encouragement to other young persons who want to get into fishing.”

DEVYEON MUCKETTE (centre) collecting his prize from Evan Seymour of Rainforest Seafoods as Minister Saboto Caesar looks on (photo by Robertson S Henry)

It was the 46th hosting of the annual Fisherman’s Day celebrations which saw 108 fishers participating in the day long event.

Thirty-eight boats were registered for the competition, and 21 of them returned with a catch, although two had to be assisted by the coastguard due to engine failure.

The total catch for the day was 3,655.03 pounds of fish at an average of 166.14 pounds per boat, as the competitors took full advantage of sunny and calm weather conditions.

Julian Fairbairn of Lowman’s Hill with the boat Forces, and Dennis Gibson of Dorsetshire Hill with the boat ‘Watch It’, tied for second place for the single heaviest fish weighing 16.05 pounds.

Calvert Thomas also of Dorsetshire Hill with the boat ‘Conscious Family’ had the third largest number of fish – 376 heads; Reuben Bradshaw of Dorsetshire Hill with the boat ‘Aquaholic’ brought in the second largest number of fish – 412 heads; and the largest number of fish – 442 heads was brought in by Timothy Murphy with the boat ‘Flawless’.

Reuben Bradshaw of Dorsetshire Hill with the boat Aquaholic brought in the third heaviest catch, 333.95 pounds; and Timothy Murphy with the boat ‘Flawless’ brought in the second heaviest catch of 367.85 pounds; he also brought in the heaviest shark weighing 44.5 pounds.

Julian Bradshaw of Dorsetshire Hill with the boat ‘Sharko’ won the Class Two competition with the heaviest catch totalling 228.75 pounds; David Browne of Queens Drive with the boat ‘Sea Hunter’ won the Class 4 competition with the heaviest catch weighing 18.5 pounds; and Eustace Bruce won the row boat competition bringing in the heaviest catch of 23.7 pounds.

Speaking to the media on Monday afternoon May 29, 2023 at Calliaqua, Chief Fisheries Officer Jennifer Cruickshank-Howard said, “The weather was good today, the fishers were happy, they were able to reach the fishing grounds, but the conditions – some were good and some were not so good.”

She said that Clare Valley was one of the villages that the Fisheries Department focused on this year, and the activities included a church service, a Fish Night, and a rowing boat competition.

“There are a lot of young fishers in Clare Valley … and yes Clare Valley is a village that we will be focusing on,” the Chief Fisheries Officer added. “They have shown their interest over the years, so the government has been putting things in place to improve the facilities there. The prize giving ceremony did not take place at the end of the day’s events, but was held on Tuesday, May 2, in Kingstown.