‘MEET OR ELSE’

ALL TOBAGO FISHERFOLK ASSOCIATION WARNS OF ESCALATED ACTION

By Emmanuel Joseph

The organisation representing the fishing sector in Tobago is calling on Prime Minister Mia Mottley to summon an urgent meeting to try to settle the ongoing fishing dispute between fishermen in Tobago and Barbados.
The All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA) has cautioned that if this doesn’t happen, Bajan fishermen could end up in jail for “illegally” plying their trade in Tobago waters.
“If the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, with her wisdom, refuses to call a declaration to meet with the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association to see how best we can iron out this problem, it says to me that she is looking for us to really come down heavy on the illegal fishing in the waters of Tobago,” ATFA president Curtis Douglas cautioned in an interview with Barbados TODAY.
However, this country’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) David Comissiong has told Barbados TODAY, the impasse is expected to be addressed between now and July.
ATFA is claiming that Barbadian fishermen have been fishing illegally in Tobago waters to the detriment of the livelihoods of those working in the industry, and some fish processors have even been forced out of business due to overfishing.
Declaring that he has not heard anything from the Barbados Fisheries Division for some time now with a view to resolving the issue, the Tobago fishing sector head said this left the door open for a deteriorating state of affairs.
“It seems to me the Barbados Fisheries want it to be an all-out situation, whereby we will have to impose the law. So, as I said, yellow alert is the first step to enforcing the law, and any Bajan who gets caught in our waters will feel the brunt of the law of Trinidad and Tobago. This is what they are leading us to, you know. By refusing to meet with us, this is what they are going to lead us to. I didn’t make the law; we just enforcing the law,” an emotional Douglas stressed.
“What we have found out from the Fisheries Department of Trinidad and Tobago is that for the Bajans to fish in our waters, they have to first seek permission from the Prime Minister or the government of Trinidad and Tobago. This was straight from the Ministry of Fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago.
“To date, we haven’t seen anything or any evidence of meeting with the Bajan fisherfolk. It seems as though they want to sweep it under the table…. We don’t understand why. But at the end of the day, we have to seek our interest, and as I said before, Tobago is at yellow alert and we would not be condoning any illegal activities in our waters,” the ATFA leader further asserted.
Douglas contended that “if a Trinidadian or Tobagonian is caught in Barbados’ waters doing anything illegal”, they would be jailed.
And he is adamant that with the backing of the law in the twin-island republic, his organisation will go all out to ensure the same fate befalls Bajan fishermen.
“We, as the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association, are going to do the lawful thing and pursue that order of discipline and we are going to follow the law, and if it means that they are fishing illegally, we are saying now, before the next season starts, have a conversation [with members]…because steps will be taken by the government to force them to abide by the laws of Trinidad and Tobago. Make no mistake,” Douglas asserted.
But Ambassador Comissiong has reported that Prime Minister Mottley and her Trinidadian counterpart Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago have already been engaged on the matter.
“There is a commitment on both sides to resolve things at the technical level, at the level of the technical officials,” he stated.
“We are going to make an effort to deal with it between now and the CARICOM Conference in Trinidad in July. It’s a matter that I will be looking at very closely over the next month or so as we gear up to attend the CARICOM’s 50th anniversary summit in Trinidad in July,” Ambassador Comissiong added.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb