Fisherman’s body found

Kathyann Abdul, who had desperately hoped her husband, Dexter Abdul, was still alive, wept bitterly and had to be restrained when she saw his body at the Coast Guard headquarters at Staubles Bay.

Abdul, 41, a fisherman, fell off his boat "Destra" while fishing off Macquripe on Monday evening.

According to reports, two fishermen saw the body floating in the water a short distance from where Abdul had disappeared. They contacted the Coast Guard who in turn contacted the police and at about 1.30 pm the body was recovered and towed to port where it was positively identified.

Abdul’s widow, Kathyann, was too grief stricken to speak yesterday. Abdul’s uncle Mark "Fox" Peltier, who is also a fisherman and who had reported him missing, told Sunday Newsday he believed his nephew had suffered an epileptic seizure before he fell into the water.

"Anything can happen when you are fishing alone and that is what happened with Abdul. Another fisherman and myself were close by but fish was biting and we were concentrating on our own fishing. When we decided to check on Abdul a few minutes later he was gone.

"In this business all fishermen use a sailor or assistant to work with them. In Abdul’s case, like many others, he had worked the day before, had a family to care for and the sailors, who usually do not work after they get their day’s pay, were not available.

"So Abdul was forced to work alone. His situation could have happened to any of the fishermen. No one is to blame."

Abdul was the sole breadwinner in his family.

He was the father of three — Destra, Kadedra and Dexter Junior.