Bequia fishermen receive life-saving tools

Working at sea can be very unpredictable and sometimes very dangerous, and with this in mind, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) has given four fishermen from Bequia one less thing to worry about.{{more}}

On Thursday, February 27th, administrative officer at the NTRC Andra Keizer journeyed to the Grenadine Island of Bequia, where she conducted the Bequia leg of a series of raffles through which the NTRC is giving away GMDSS radios in 10 different fishing districts.

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) radios, which are subsidized by the NTRC and can be bought by sea goers at a cost of EC$400, were handed out to raffle winners James Frederick, Junior Hazell, Hughton Forde and Arnold Hazell.

The men are all from the fishing village of Paget Farm while the raffle was conducted at the Paget Farm, Fisheries Complex under the watchful eye of fisheries officer Sylvester Hazell.

Keizer stressed that going out to sea and being able to effectively communicate is very important, as it can mean life or death. She said that radios are a communication tool as well as a life-saving tool.

“We at the NTRC are glad that we were able to give the fishermen such an important piece of equipment,” said Keizer, who said that similar raffles have been conducted in Kingstown at the Kingstown Fish Market, in Layou, Barrouallie and Chateaubelair, among other places.

The GMDSS radio allows a vessel in distress at sea to send out an SOS signal just by pressing a button. The button press will send a message to the Coastguard which will tell rescuers exactly where a boat in distress is located and who exactly the boat belongs to.

The GMDSS service was officially launched on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2011 at the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard base in Calliaqua.

The GMDSS works on channel 70, while the NTRC has installed the Legacy Channel 16. A third channel that can be switched to any of the maritime VHF channels is also available on the radio, while an additional channel allows for calls to be made to land lines or mobile phones.

After learning that he had won the raffle, James Frederick said that he felt “glad,” as he has been hearing about the radios and was desirous of obtaining one. He, however, added that while he has been a fisherman for 40 years, he has never ran into any major problems at sea.

Commenting also, Junior Hazell, a fisherman of over 20 years, said “I didn’t expect to win; I feel good.” Another winner, Hughton Forde, observed: “This is a very good thing to get this free. I started fishing when I was 14 and I’m now 69, so I know about problems that can happen at sea and this radio can be helpful”.

The other winner, Arnold Hazell, who has been plying his trade as a fisherman for over 35 years said that while he has never had any problems at sea, “I’m glad still to get the radio, because I had a VHF radio, but it died. so I’m thankful to have this replacement.”

Meanwhile, fisheries officer Hazell said that on Bequia, more than 50 fishing boats operate with approximately 150 fishermen and of all these, only one boat had the GMDSS radio up to the day of the raffle.

“One boat alone had this radio and most of the men use cell phones, so this is a good idea, a small incentive to get the others to buy,” said Hazell.

He added that the message of the importance of the radios must be spread, as having one of these radios at sea can save lives.

“There were several incidents last year. In one incident, a man swam for 15 hours, while others also swam a long distance; but if they had a radio, they would have got through easier. All they have are cell phones,” said Hazell.

Meanwhile, persons desirous of obtaining the radios can purchase them at a subsidized price of EC$400 at the Lulley’s Fishing Supplies chain of stores located in Rose Place, Bequia and Union Island.

Persons can also purchase them at the NTRC offices located in the National Insurance Services (NIS) building on Upper Bay Street.