Tobago fishermen still missing, choppy waters halt search

RESCUE teams are expected to return to the waters off Pigeon Point, Tobago, on February 13, to continue the search for two fishermen who went missing on February 11.

The men, Albert “BB” James and Junior “Flehbeh” Thorne, set out to sea from Pigeon Point, at around 6 am, onboard a 28-foot, open-top pirogue, Xena, and were expected to return by 10 am.

But up to publication on February 12, they were unaccounted for.

Teams comprising members of the TT Air Guard, Coast Guard, Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA) and other groups, began searching for the men early on February 12, but choppy waters caused them to end the search by mid-afternoon.

When Newsday visited Pigeon Point around 1.30 pm, a fishing crew, which was part of the search-and-rescue operation, had just returned.

Crew member Martineau Roberts, a Pigeon Point fisherman, said he was among the first to report the men’s disappearance.

He said, “They went to sea early yesterday morning (February 11) to set out fish pots. Apparently, difficulty may have stepped in, but we can’t answer to say what difficulty stepped in. All we know was that there was some difficulty out at sea.

“We were expecting them back in by 10 am. I didn’t want to send out the bulletin too early. So I hold back the bulletin until about two, three o’clock (in the afternoon) and that’s when I start making calls to people to let them know that two fishermen were out at sea.”

But Martineau said there were no fishermen around when he issued the bulletin, “because besides fishing, some of them have different type of jobs.

“We ended up getting a message to them. But when they came, it was already too late, so we could not have made any move. So we put all plans for today (February 12). We come together, we buy gas, refreshments and we supply some of the boats.

“Also, we had other boats from different parts of Tobago, like Scarborough, Speyside, Castara, Charlotteville, Bloody Bay, all these places was looking out today for us.”

But Martineau said the choppy waters caused them to end the search prematurely.

“The water was getting more and more bad by the minute. The current is very strong, the wind is very strong and the waves is very bad. It was actually beating your body. That can tell you how rough it is, because some of the fishermen, when they come in, they couldn’t even talk. They had to rest before they could say something.”

As such, he believes the Air Guard must now play a more critical role in the operation.

“The search would not be a boat search any more. We have to do air. Everything have to do by the air. So we asking for the air guards, coast guards and pilots who may be flying to look out for these guys.

“We might still have a boat in case they find a boat or see something around the area that we could use to look to see what is taking place.”

Martineau said five fishing crews went searching for the men, whom he described as experienced fishers.

Asked what he felt could have gone wrong, Martineau said, “It have a lot of things could take place, maybe the engine failed, gas is the problem why the engine could fail. It could be one of those two things but I can’t say what actually take place."

Scarborough fisherman Renwick Thom, who led another fishing crew, said he and James once worked together.

Thom, who has been a fisherman for over 40 years, said he went to an area in the water where James often sets his fish pots, but he said the water was very rough.

“I went to the first coordinate but the water was very rough and windy out there. Water coming over the boat and then I left to go to a next area about 30 miles down the road, that is where I know he normally set pots. So I went in that area to look for him also.

“I didn’t see anything there and I leave and come back up. I went in all the spots I know he really sets pots and I didn’t see any boats – nothing at all. Then the water started getting more rough and I just had to come back.”

Thom is hoping the men can return to their families.

“I feel very bad because it is not a nice thing to know that a colleague of mine is missing. It is really hard. When they called me and told me that, I said I would lend my assistance.”

ATFA president Curtis Douglas told Newsday that Tobago was in urgent need of a rescue boat.

“The Chief Secretary promise us a rescue boat over three years now. If we had that rescue boat, the search would have started since yesterday (February 11). But it seems that he doesn’t care about the fishing industry and he doesn’t care about fishermen,” he said.

Meanwhile, TEMA, in a release, said a high wind and hazardous seas alert was issued by the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service and will remain in effect until February 17.

“These conditions may have contributed to their delay (in returning to shore),” it said, adding that people should avoid going to the sea under such conditions.

TEMA said anyone with information that could assist in locating the fishermen should contact the agency via 211.