Fisheries officials address present issues, admonish fisherfolk to grieve not

Sometimes fisherfolk are ecstatic when they think about the contribution they make to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) but sometimes, they grieve.

“If I have to live this life over I will choose fishing because of the contribution we make nationwide, but sometimes while you are delighted, you grieve and truly, when you grieve, sometimes the happiness that should come out does not come out,” Eocen Victory, President of the National Fisherfolk Organisation told a gathering at the conference room of the Fisheries Division at the Kingstown Fish Market on Friday, April 27.

Victory was addressing the launch of the 43rd anniversary of Fisherman’s Day activities and used the opportunity to speak about some of the issues facing fisherfolk in the country. Those present at the launch included Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Saboto Caesar and Chief Fisheries Officer Jennifer Cruickshank-Howard.Among the issues raised by Victory was the impending dislocation of boat owners / fishermen from the Rose Place area where many fishermen have their base, which he said is being done without “proper consultation” with them.

He was seemingly referring to the government’s plan to construct a modern port facility in the vicinity of Rose Place/Bottom Town. Victory said the possibility exists that they will be placed somewhere where they will be victims of theft and praedial larceny and this can spell disaster for numerous persons.He noted that a fishermen’s cooperative (CALFICO) in Calliaqua has been given the Calliaqua fisheries centre, the Barrouallie Fisherfolk Organisation have the fisheries centre at Barrouallie, and other centres are being given to people other than fisherfolk.“…But Vincentian on a whole and we are very delighted about that,” added Victory.He emphasized that the fisherfolk who operate in the Kingstown area are concerned about what will happen when the Kingstown Fish Market changes hands in the next three of four months.

Bequia Seafood Company Limited, a local company established last year, is slated to take over the management of the Kingstown Fish Market from the Agricultural Input Warehouse.“We grieve because, Kingstown, our main centre, we do not know directly what is going to happen to the fisherfolk of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

We cannot put our nation’s fisherfolk at risk if proper planning is not being placed to take care of the fisherfolk,” he said.Victory said the fishers in Kingstown have been advised to form themselves into a cooperative, so they will be able to run part of the market and he is hoping that this can be done soon.

He however added there are queries about the facility at the back of the fish market which will be operated by Bequia Seafood Ltd and what will happen to the ‘bycatch’.Bycatch is the unwanted fish and other marine creatures trapped by commercial fishing nets during fishing for different species.

“Some fishers are of the view that when the bycatch is landed their catch will not fetch the price that they should in order to make ends meet, because the bycatch will be sold to the vendors at a cheaper rate,” said Victory.  He also cited among his grievances, equipment donated in 2012 by the Japanese to facilitate the issuance of identification cards for fishermen, and according to him, to date, “nothing has been done.”

“So, while we are happy to be celebrating here our 43rd Fisherman’s Day anniversary, we want these grievances to be addressed so that we, the whole nation’s fishers, about 8,000 of us, could be truly happy about what is taking place in the industry,” said Victory.The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, in his response assured that the bycatch will not be dumped on the market as any bycatch that is left in SVG will attract a custom service charge of approximately 5 per cent.

“This would mean that it is just like people importing fish from anywhere in the world and they have to pay their duties, so it is not going affect the price of the fish,” stressed Caesar.“I want to encourage him (Victory) not only to grieve not, but not to grieve like those who do not have any hope,” said Caesar.The Minister, addressing the matter of the ID cards said that the process has been stalled because it was thought that it complicates matters when citizens have too many forms of identification.He said that the government is run by policies and the Argyle International Airport (AIA) brought the ushering in of a new epoch in SVG which benefits fisherfolk as it allows for the exportation of fish.Caesar also noted that when the Kingstown Fish Market changes hands, the fisherfolk have nothing to worry about.“As we celebrate, we must be reflective, because if we do not understand where we are coming from, we would not understand why we are and where we are,” said Caesar.