Manzanilla fishermen are pleading with Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat to intervene so that the fishing depot in their village can be opened soon.
However, for this to happen, there is still much work to be done since the facility still needs an electricity supply, pipe-borne water, cold storage for keeping their fish, security lights, cabins to secure their fishing gear and toilet facilities.
The fishermen say they are losing thousands of dollars daily without cold storage to store their catch, while their engines and other equipment are also being stolen because they now have no facility to store them. The fishing depot was built ten years ago under the United National Congress regime but is yet to be officially opened because it lacks these facilities, the fishermen told Guardian Media.
“Please! Please hear us, we desperately need the amenities at the depot,” the fishermen said.
Steve Housend, a fisherman for 13 years and spokesman for the 40-plus affected fishermen, told Guardian Media the depot is basically an open concrete building with a slipway to get the boats off the sea for repairs but this is all it provides. Despite, this, he said the fishermen have been forced to use the depot as it is.
However, he said it is time the facility is completed.
“We cannot accept this type of treatment for any longer. This is an insult to the fishermen at Manzanilla,” Housend said, noting all other fishing facilities are fully outfitted so that fishermen can enjoy the benefits.
Housend told Guardian Media that fishermen have lost boat engines due to the lack of security or lighting at the facility. Reports were made to the Manzanilla Police Station but there have been no arrests or recovery of the engines, he said. An engine cost on average as much as $40,000.
Kerry Brooks, a fisherman for the last 10 years, said boat engine theft had forced most fishermen to remove their engines immediately after their return from fishing. However, he admitted this takes time and money as they have to pay for transporting their engines to a safe place. He said at night the place is in complete darkness, making the facility a haven for bandits and even unsafe for fishermen who return late at night with their catch.
As a result of lack of storage facilities at the depot, Brooks said they have to sell their fish below the regular price to prevent it from decaying or take the fish to their homes for storage.
“We are facing difficulties in this pandemic season and need money like any other people for our survival. Can someone lend an ear to our cry?” Brooks said.
“We are as fishermen supplying fish for the community and country and suffering as a result of most important amenity, electricity, for the running of our fishing trade. Two things are having an impact on us, we have to sell our catch at low prices and have to remove boat engines at an added cost.”
Kenwyn Phillip, Sangre Grande Regional Corporation vice-chairman and councillor for Manzanilla, under whose purview the fishing facility falls, visited the affected fishermen recently and listened to their problems. He told the fishermen he sympathised with their problems and had been making calls to the ministry to air their concerns.
Phillip said on March 25, he contacted Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture Avinash Singh and highlighted their problems. He said he had also tried contacting Minister Rambharat but was unsuccessful. He urged Rambharat to have a meeting with the affected fishermen.
Contacted on the issue, however, Rambharath said the ownership of the property was in question.
“It was constructed before my time. The matter is in court,” Rambharath wrote in a messaged response.