Push for more Tobago fishermen to get GPS devices

SAFETY at sea remains a major concern in the Tobago community, following the rescue of two fishermen – Albert James and Junior Thorne – who were missing at sea for four days.

The search utilised considerable resources and became an international effort with authorities in Venezuela and Grenada asked to help.

Among the local stakeholders involved were the Air Guard, Coast Guard, the Tobago Emergency Management Agency, the All-Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA), and volunteers with drones.

The men set out early on February 11 to set their fishing pots in the waters off Pigeon Point but did not make it home. Newsday understands that the pirogue's engine began to give problems and left them stalled.

They were found on February 15 significantly dehydrated and taken to the Scarborough General Hospital for treatment.

Head of the All-Tobago Fishing Association (ATFA) Curtis Douglas said the island's fishermen should be equipped with GPS (Geographic Positioning System) tracking and wireless radio sets.

Speaking with Newsday, Douglas said, “What is important and pertinent for fishermen is called a tracking device and a device that you can communicate with, along with a satellite phone. I’m not saying that the tracking device is not important, but (with) these items, your family member would be able to track directly where you are and find you.”

He explained why the tracking devices were important.

“Sometimes, one man has GPS, and you may find four or five boats may go out using that coordinate. The GPS is good, but with the tracking device, you can’t miss it. So as you go missing, we can trail you wherever you are. With GPS, you’ll have to send the coordinates with the hope that they’ll find you.

"The tracker is a more reliable way of the safety network within the fishing industry.”

He recalled previous pilot projects hosted by both the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and the government which enabled fishermen with these devices.

“You see when you’re doing a project, once you don’t have the right ingredients it’s going to fail. You cannot single out your friends when you are going to do something. Under ATFA, whether we like you or not, once you are entitled you would be incorporated, but when you want to segregate and single out people…

"We need to work hand in hand.”

Head of the Parlatuvier Fishing Association Darlington Chance said in his group there are 30 registered fishermen, 20 have their own vessels, and half of them are equipped with a GPS device.

“Those with 28- and 24-footers, they more use their GPS for fish-finders. They put down markers and then they use the GPS to get coordinates to know where their traps are.”

The idea of GPS mappers came to the fore previously.

“Some of the fishermen don’t want that on their boats, because some of them would go for drugs – I am real," he said.

"So if you have these tracking devices you can tell exactly where they are. If you know you’re going for drugs with your boats and you have a GPS, you wouldn’t put on your GPS, as they can track you.

"But if you’re in difficulty, then you put on your GPS. But we still had a problem with that.”

Of the 300-plus fishermen registered with the Tobago Unified Fishing Association (TUFA), only ten have GPS, said its president Dexter Taylor.

“Most of them cannot even manage a GPS. Take into consideration the cost of it, then...most of them can’t even use it properly. The device costs approximately $2,000-$3,000 and then some of them don’t last, because with the (sea) conditions, fishermen aren’t taking good care of them.”

Risky fishing expeditions

He said while safety remains key, fishermen are stubborn.

“Fishermen are really hardened people, they would only talk safety when there is really a serious issue like somebody is missing. But on a day-to-day schedule of going to sea, safety is last on their minds.

“A simple form of safety is – you’re going out to sea, it’s not safe for one boat to go out to sea with the distance that those guys go – 50, 60, sometimes 70 miles. If anything should happen there with one boat, there is no form of safety.

"We ask them to go out in droves, at least two or three boats, so if there is a problem, at least one boat can assist. Is like one man, he wants to catch all the fish; he figures if he carries another man, a next boat, he won’t catch as much as he is supposed to catch, or someone would know where he does his catches.

"Safety is definitely the last thing on those fellas' minds.”

These GPS systems, he said, need to be cleaned after the fishermen return from the sea: “The sea blast tends to corrode that equipment very fast.”

While he has 27 fishermen registered with his organisation, president of the Moriah Fishing Association Gideon King said the number of fishermen with GPS was still in the single digits.

“Some don’t see the need for it because the majority just fish as a hobby, while others do it as a business, but most of them don’t really see the need for it. We’ve tried to enforce it because it’s a safety mechanism.”

He added: “I am for this device. A few of them had it, but it later became corroded because of its exposure to the sea.”

Nickiesha Toussaint, president of the Belle Garden Fishing Association, said that when she accepted the position two years ago, she began to try to convince her members of the importance of GPS devices.

“Even before I accepted the position, I could remember addressing the fishermen: GPS is very important. I keep on begging and pleading with my fishermen, telling them that the device is very important, but they don’t see it as that.”

To date, one fisherman from her area remains unaccounted for. Ashley Job went to sea on October 23 on his pirogue Anzy 2 and has never returned.

A fisherman who wanted to remain anonymous said his colleagues barely use GPS.

“Fishermen don’t want to be tracked – that’s the story. They don’t want you to know where they’re going because some are going for drugs.”

Newsday contacted several GPS providers. At the GPS Company, based in Tobago, a director who wished to remain anonymous, said it engaged fishermen all the time, but while the company has a few fishermen on its database, many are reluctant to install them. He said the device costs $1,500 to buy and install, with a further $100 monthly fee.

Another company which preferred not to have its name revealed for security reasons, said it previously had clients in Tobago, but now Tobago fishermen do not sign on to the service, for unknown reasons.