Barbados – Heeding the warnings

his article,  published by Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network. (CIJN), the region’s premier investigative journalism organisation, explores the challenges facing the  regional fisheries sector – both natural and human.

From coast to coast across Barbados the cry remains constant on the lips of fisherfolk: fish landings are down but just who or what is to blame and with less fish available and would this now mean that fishermen must find alternative employment?
What is of greater concern even now is the damage to the southern and northern coasts which were damaged by the wrath of Hurricane Beryl which unleashed her fury on July 1, 2024.
One hundred percent of the fishing vessels at the Bridgetown Fisheries were damaged while on the south coast there was a mass haul for inspection of all boats.
Parliamentary Representative for St Peter Colin Jordan reported to Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network (CIJN) that the wrath of Beryl is testament to the ongoing climate crisis.
“It is affecting our public spaces where people gather, it is affecting the housing [stock] and commercial activity- we need mitigation intervention and our beaches need to be protected,” he reported recently during a damage assessment tour.
In Sixmen’s St Peter, ambitious spear fisher Davian Bailey who was found preparing fish said that his catch has not been the same as it was ten years ago and he admits that he’s feeling hollow much like the fish he deguts because of the reduced fish landings.
While the fish are looking for cooler temperatures with warmer waters present because of climate change-Bailey too is considering new opportunities outside of fishing.
“To me the demand for money using fish (isn’t making sense) I find that I would have to find a different source of income so fishing then becomes a part time thing more so than a Monday to Friday source of income. This is fish that you could still eat-just in the event that you don’t have enough. (I can’t) depend on fishing every single day because it’s getting difficult as time goes on because of how hard it is to catch fish and the amount of fish that [we can’t catch to make it profitable,” he said.
While the Barbados Fisheries Division was not able to comment on reduced fish stock or landings at the time of publication, evidence-based research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States shows that:
“The unknown status of stocks of many of the marine fisheries resources, suspected overfishing and overexploitation of resources and the lack of infrastructure and facilities as well as sub – regional management feature prominently as the major constraints faced by the local fisheries sector.”
Weighing in on the matter was experienced Marine Biologist and Blue Economy Advocate Nikola Simpson who told the CIJN affirmatively that generally fish species have been declining over time resulting in decreased landings.
“I don’t want to make the assumption that fish stock is declining without evidence; however, landings of fish species have declined over time. There are a number of factors -a big part of declining fish stock is overfishing and impacts of the climate crisis and warmer temperatures-this seems to be affecting the migration of some fish species-pollution also affects water quality as well,” she said.
She has pointed to the impacts of overfishing and the climate crisis.
“Capture production has reached its limit; there are really no more fish,” she added.
Meanwhile, Bailey admits that if the fish were more plentiful, he would consider staying within fishing.
“Bajans love fish real bad but because the fish are scarce it drives the price up and alternatives are stepping in,” he said, making mention of other protein options.
“The actual fish is getting too expensive.”
Meanwhile fisherman Jim Miller who has been in Barbados for over two decades since leaving New Jersey admits that since the pandemic fish were plentiful but now, they are scarce.
“Even during COVID when we weren’t allowed to dive or spearfish or do anything on the water, when we got back in the water after COVID there were fish everywhere for that time and it had nothing to do with the Fisheries (Division) it was COVID-19 that shut us down and we saw fish.”
Miller suggested to the CIJN that overfishing may be to blame for reduced fish landings and added that the pandemic reset helped the fish to breed and multiply but now it’s back to an ocean of scarce fish sightings.
“I think it may be the global warming and the change in water temperatures, the seamoss – we are seeing more seamoss than ever, but the warm water may be keeping the fish back- we are seeing fish out there, but they are not coming in,” he said.
“All of a sudden we are not seeing anything, and I think it may be something bigger keeping the fish back,” he added.
“When I first came to Barbados it seemed like fishing was more productive and there were more fish around but right before COVID-19 we didn’t see as many fish. We see a lot more warmer water and sea moss which seems to be pushing the fish back.”
With an opposing view was Fisherman at the Bridgetown Fisheries Anderson Lorde who said that he realized that fish landings were down only because of the passage of Hurricane Beryl and he explained that climate change has had some positive effects.
“The impact of climate change has affected us not only in Barbados but worldwide- it has had some good and some negative. Since the influx of the Sargassum seaweed we have seen more amber fish, more trigger fish and also more dolphin in the summertime.
“I don’t see an impact on our industry because our fish depend on warmer waters to migrate, breed and spawn. We don’t normally see those during the summer time. It has been keeping some people fed and keeping food on tables,” he said.
Having faced the wrath of Beryl, Lorde said that currently the general fish stock is almost non-existent.
“It’s been completely depleted, we had close to 300 boats and now seventy to eighty has been completely destroyed and what was wasn’t damaged was put on the land for repairs…we had close to three hundred boats and now we only have three, all the fish processing companies are the ones making the money now- the fish stock has been completely depleted.”
Meanwhile, one high ranking official of one of Barbados’ main fisherfolk organizations who preferred anonymity said that there is no evidence to suggest yet that there is reduced fish stock but has also agreed to the fact that landings have been low within the past decade and more.
Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly Ann Cox was not in a position to comment officially on this story.
By Michron Robinson