Fishing devastation prompts call for affordable boat insurance

Hurricane Beryl’s destructive blow to the fishing industry has reignited a call for affordable insurance for fishing boats.

After some 20 fishing boats were sunk as high waves breached breakwater at the Bridgetown Fishing Complex, former maritime affairs and blue economy minister Kirk Humphrey told Barbados TODAY that the time has come for “a serious discussion regarding insurance for small to large sized fishing vessels with all parties involved in the fishing and insurance industries”.

Humphrey, who spearheaded several initiatives to grow the sector during his tenure, described the loss as “inconceivable” and “painful to witness”. He emphasised the critical role the industry plays in the island’s food security.

“We’ve been having this conversation around insuring the fishing vessels, and I know it’s a very costly thing to insure vessels, so I think we need to have conversations with the insurance companies around how we can make it affordable,” Humphrey said.

He acknowledged that while insurance is available in some cases, fishermen find it prohibitively expensive.

“We have to work on doing better at that,” he added.

The St Michael South MP visited the affected areas on Monday night to assess the damage firsthand. He noted that recently built jetties, designed to withstand serious surges, were overwhelmed by the unprecedented level of storm activity.

“I got to tell you that broke my heart, to be honest; we had a lot of plans in the industry, I worked very closely with the fisherfolk, I know the love that they have for the industry and the respect they have for the ocean,” he said.

Speaking about the jetties which were built to “withstand a serious surge”, Humphrey added: “Obviously we never anticipated that level of activity…. It tells me that we have to build out better when we rebuild that part of the fishing industry to withstand stronger surges from the ocean.”

He also revealed that plans were already in motion to build a vessel haul-out facility in Bridgetown, which would help boat owners better protect their investments in the future.