Dying while make a living. Fishermen set sail, never to return home again…
By Sue-Ann Wayow sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad Express Newspapers | Story Created: Jan 21, 2012 at 10:52 PM ECT
LAST month while many were preparing for the Christmas season, three Guyanese men left Trinidad aboard their boat and set sail for home.
They never made it to Guyana, at least not to the knowledge of the authorities.
The men were aboard the MV Oliver L, registered in the name of Raymond Lord.
Captain Wexton Andrews, Ramdat Roopnarine and Clad Burnett left Trinidad on December 21, destined for Port Georgetown, and were expected to arrive in Guyana on Christmas Eve.
They did not arrive.
Efforts by both Trinidad and Venezuelan coast guards to find the men have been futile so far.
An article published online by kaieteurnewsonline.com on January 3 stated the vessel was equipped with all the basic necessary communication equipment and its inspection was up to date.
The search for those men is still continuing.
One year ago, Nigel Boodoo, 38, captain of a boat named Delta Orinoco 5; Stephan Charles, 31; and a third man only known as Hakim, left Moruga to fish off Trinidad’s north coast. They were equipped with fishing gear, two boat engines, biscuits, bread, soft drinks, sausages, corned beef and cigarettes.
They left a port upstream the La Ruffin River for three days on a journey to St Vincent, said Samantha Butcher, the wife of Charles.
There has been no contact since, and the Coast Guard has called off the search after several weeks.
Clara Ramlochan, wife of Boodoo, and Butcher have visited Venezuela twice trying to find them but without any success.
Searches for the men were conducted by both local and Venezuelan military.
Butcher, 31, said it was difficult living without her husband.
She said: “There are no words to describe how we are dealing with this. We hardly talk about it, but I guess that is our way of dealing with it.”
Charles and Butcher have two teenage daughters, Tiffany, 14, and Tamara, 13.
Butcher, a security guard, lives in Sigarie Trace, Moruga, with her children.
Butcher, who celebrated her birthday on January 8, said her husband would have celebrated his 32nd birthday last Friday.
Fishermen going missing is far from uncommon.
Some have been found, some not, and some showed up bloated and dead.
In the latest incident, two men from Sea Lots, Port of Spain, have been charged with the murders of three Felicity fishermen— brothers Ravi Ramsaran, 26, Kassinath Ramsarran, 31, and Pream Squires, 45.
The three went missing on January 10 after they left the Cunupia River in Felicity to fish in the Gulf of Paria.
Three days later, their bodies were found at sea. Police believe the men were killed at sea after being robbed.
Last year alone, at least ten fisherman have either been reported missing or drowned at sea.
Delinquent fishermen, stormy seas and unchecked piracy can all be blamed for the disappearance and deaths of these men.
Just over a year ago, three men fishing off the north coast went missing. They have still not been found, and even though the wives of two men still have hope they may be found alive, president of the La Ruffin/Moruga Fishing Association Peter Glouden believes they may have drowned.
Glouden told the Sunday Express, “During that time, the sea was rather rough. They had a lot of rough sea warnings and they didn’t heed. Whether they went to fish; I personally felt these fellas drowned because the sea was terrible at that time.”
During the first two months of every year, fishermen should be extra-cautious when performing their duties, especially if their workplace is the east and north coast of Trinidad, he said.
Glouden said during the months of December, January and February, seas were extremely rough.
He said if anyone had difficulty at sea and ended up in the water, they will drift to other Caribbean islands, Central and South America, and not only to Venezuela.
He said the seas were not as rough in the south and west coasts as in the north and east.
And if people were thrown overboard in those areas, they would be found by Venezuelans.
“When you leave Port of Spain, and you take the north of Venezuela and you going up to Grenada or St Vincent, the current is always pulling in that direction, so it will never pull you to come back to Trinidad. It is not that the current is pulling towards Trinidad, it is seeping away from Trinidad all of the time. If something goes wrong with your boat, you cannot go back to Trinidad because the tide is carrying you straight down to Grenada or St Vincent.”
Glouden said last week, he travelled by boat to Tobago, and it was the roughest ride he ever had.
He advised his fellow fishermen, “We have to exercise all safety measures and have all safety equipment. A life jacket is not a safety device unless you have it on. You don’t wait for something to happen. It is difficult to search for a life jacket on the boat and to put it on because you might not be able to; it might slip away with the tide and the wind.”
Glouden said the captains of the boats who were transporting seismic workers from the coast to their offshore destinations should also exercise caution and not overload the boats during this time. He said if seas were calm, 15 men would be acceptable, but because of the weather, 12 passengers should be the maximum.
So would the price of fish be affected at this time?
Of course.
He said because of the rough seas, fishermen may not be able to go far to fish, and where they may feel safe to go, there may be few fish or none at all.
And the ongoing seismic surveys along the south and east coasts are also negatively impacting on the fishing industry because after the survey is conducted in one area, it takes at least six months before the fish stock can be replenished, he said.
“Carite is already selling for $40 a pound, and Carnival has not even passed yet. The middle and the upper class may be able to buy carite and kingfish, in particular, but this year will be the highest price ever in the history of fishing in Trinidad and Tobago; I can assure you that.”
Any thoughts?