Fishing industry struggles to recover from Beryl

ix weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the fishing industry, recovery efforts are slowly gaining momentum, but significant challenges remain.

A recent assessment reveals the extent of the hurricane’s impact: 241 boats damaged and 64 completely destroyed, directly affecting about 800 people’s livelihoods.

Nikola Simpson, founder-director of Sustainable Caribbean, a social enterprise which has been coordinating recovery initiatives with the government’s Fisheries Division, outlined the immediate priorities: “Really, the priority needs now are materials for the repair of fishing vessels, trying to get as many longline vessels back out fishing as soon as possible so that we can hopefully resume fishing activities, restore livelihoods, and also hopefully get some fresh local sustainable seafood back on the plates and also within our tourism sector as soon as possible.”

Simpson, a marine biologist, emphasised the urgency of securing resources for vessel repairs and shipwright services.

“This is still immediate recovery—just getting the boats out. You need the materials for the repairs of both fibreglass and wooden vessels, support for shipwright services for all the shipwrights that make these vessels, and then also support for getting the boats launched back into the water,” she said.

The Rotary Clubs of Barbados have partnered with fibreglass fabricator Fiberpol and the Cave Shepherd Community Fund to donate $30 000 in materials for rehabilitating damaged vessels at the Bridgetown and Oistins fisheries ports.

So far, a dozen boats have been successfully repaired and relaunched, with efforts ongoing to restore many more, Simpson reported. “Over the past almost six weeks, I think great progress has been made. It’s been slow and steady, as you can imagine, based on some of what I shared—the technicality, the risk involved with clearing the complex, making sure that divers were safe, and making sure that fisherfolk were safe.

She added: “There were the challenges of the Sargassum seaweed, which then kind of derailed the process a bit. So it’s been huge. And some people lost their homes; their boats were their homes, their livelihoods, their identity; it’s their income; it’s everything for them. So it’s been hugely impactful. And, you know, you would never think that something like that would have happened, but it’s happened. And as I said earlier, everyone is coming together and rebuilding. And hopefully, as we move forward, we can do this better.”

The emotional and physical toll on the fishing community has been significant as Simpson described the aftermath: “It’s been extremely challenging, heartbreaking, you know; if you were in the market on July 1st, July 2nd, seeing so many people crying, risking their lives. And then the immediate cleanup was a huge task, seeing people trying to secure their boats, people getting washed into the water.

“And then the support services of the cranes. Hinds Transport has been extremely helpful. If you have to haul a boat, it takes one to two hours. There’s risk involved. Once boats were then hauled out, divers could come in to try to float the sunken boats. There was lots of debris.”

Looking beyond immediate recovery, Simpson stressed the need for long-term resilience: “We’re also looking at the resilience efforts and looking towards the future as well and how we can enhance the fisheries sector in Barbados. We’re looking at how we can use new methods of technology and innovation to help make the industry more sustainable and hopefully more resilient to disasters such as this, which are impacted by the climate crisis.”

To support ongoing efforts, an upcoming fundraiser co-hosted by Sustainable Caribbean and the Barbados Arts Council at the Fisheries Division will include an art auction and raffle, aiming to raise $10 000 for the recovery effort.

As recovery efforts continue, Simpson remains cautiously optimistic: “Progress is being made, slow and steady, but we’re getting it done.”

“Some of our tourism partners have donated vouchers and staycations to hotels and restaurants. And we’ll be working with many of the artists in Barbados to hopefully get some bids and make some money to help more fisherfolk get back out there,” she added. (RG)