Several fisherfolk at Consett Bay, St John are complaining of losing thousands of dollars daily caused by what they deem mismanagement of the fish market there.
They told Barbados TODAY on Monday of a range of problems at the St John fish landing site over several months.
And while Senior Manager of Markets Eric Lewis has promised that some level of government intervention is on its way, the fishers said they are worried that the longer the issues persist the more their livelihoods are at risk.
They complained that the market was closing early in the evening and opening late in the morning and the water was also being shut off early as well. The fishers explained that as they worked at sea, there were certain times throughout the day when their catches would be plentiful, over which they had no control. Since the market started to close early, they said they were being forced to come ashore at inconvenient times and were not catching the quantity of fish they were accustomed to.
They also highlighted that fish was a perishable commodity and needed plenty of ice to maintain its freshness. With the facilities being closed early and the water turned off, it meant that they had no access to ice, could not clean the fish after a certain time, and had to make alternative arrangements to ensure they were compliant with food health and safety standards.
Fisher Brad Thompson told Barbados TODAY: “The market has been closing and opening at stupid hours so it means that sometimes when we come, we have to wait about two hours before we can set out to sea and it means that we have to hustle to come back in. The market is supposed to open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. but some days the market opens at 9 a.m and closes at 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. The times change frequently.
“We are losing out on money. Yesterday, I got seven kingfish. I left at 7:30 a.m. and about 2:11 p.m. I put the last fish in the boat ‘cause I know it’s time for me to come back in, knowing the time the market would close. If the market was not closing at 3 p.m. I could have caught more fish because I was getting about two kingfish so all the time, the way they were biting. The fish I brought in were 160 pounds (in total), which means I could have gotten a 200-pound or at least a 250. So it’s less money for me as my catch was only $1 600 ($10 per pound). Another two hours out there I could have gotten another 100 pounds, the fish were biting good.”
Fisherman Shad Harewood
Shad Harewood said he ran into difficulties a few days ago when he returned from the sea to find the market closed. He said he had to make several phone calls to get someone to open the market so he could access ice to preserve his catch’s post-harvest quality.
Harewood said that even though he got his relative to call the market supervisor and inform them that he was on his way back, the facility was still closed early.
“This happened more than once,” said Harewood. “We would have to call family and tell them to bring a bin and put ice in it out here for us . . . . We have no control of how the fish bites. Sometimes they bite late and while they bite you have to be there. Depending on how the fish bites, you could lose $1 000 in half an hour if you are not present.”
Harewood noted that most fishermen ventured about six miles out to sea around the reefs at this time.
“All we are asking for is a little consideration,” he added. “All of us are trying to make a dollar. It is totally disrespectful. If we are out here trying to make a living and you do this to us, you are basically taking food out of our mouths.”
Paul Standard said Consett Bay had a crucial role to play in the fishing industry as it was second to the Bridgetown Fishing Complex in landing the most fish on the island, with 11 operating boats.
He said the fishers there supplied many restaurants and householders and the problems at the market had begun to harm their credibility, he said, as they were not able to deliver the quotas promised.
Standard said: “Every day is fishing day but every day is not catching day so you need to capitalise on the times when things are going good. We have small day boats and some days we can’t go out because of weather and sea conditions so if we can get what we can today and we lose out tomorrow, we still can live. It is not like we have a constant pay cheque, where we can come down here every Friday and get X amount of money for sure.
“It seems that St John people always come last compared to everybody else. When it comes to roads, amenities, water, everything, we come last.”
The state of the jetty was another concern. Standard said it was in a state of disrepair with many planks loose. The slipway, the concrete structure that is used to haul up boats, needed work as well, he said.
Consett Bay’s fish vendors also complained of poor lighting in and surrounding the market which affected their visibility when deboning and cleaning the fish. The roof leaked terribly, the market scale was out of order and a plastic tarpaulin that was used to cover a large piece of equipment near the market was creating a mosquito problem as water had settled in it.
They said the market was in dire need of an upgrade as the structure was showing signs of severe degradation.
Lewis told Barbados TODAY he met with Consett Bay fisherfolk last Wednesday and Friday and promised their issues would soon be addressed.
“I am putting some steps in place to address the concerns,” he said. “So rest assured that in the next few days, everything up there should return to fine functionality.”
Nearly four years ago, Consett Bay was earmarked for a $1.5 million upgrade as part of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy improvements of fish markets across the island. The fixes were highlighted during the 2020/2021 Estimates parliamentary hearing where the Ministry of Agriculture identified the east coast market as a priority.
The then acting Chief Fisheries Officer Joyce Leslie said the major upgrades would include a slipway, a redeveloped boatyard and a storage area.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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