12-YEAR FISHING WAIT VS 42 YEARS ON BWIA

Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s recent outburst that Barbados had been kept waiting for 12 years by Trinidad and Tobago for an agreement which would allow Barbados fishermen to catch flying fish in this country’s territorial waters is remarkable, if only for his Government’s convenient memory loss on BWIA. What Arthur is demanding is that Trinidad and Tobago should grant Barbados fishermen full discretionary power to fish in our waters, almost as of right, yet apparently concede nothing in return. Admittedly, this country within the 12-year span spoken of by the Barbados Prime Minister, has entered into a renewable agreement with the neighbouring Republic of Venezuela which allows Venezuelans to fish in our waters. However, the agreement is not one-sided, and allows for reciprocal fishing rights by Trinidad and Tobago fishermen in Venezuela’s territorial waters. The reaching and implementing of the agreement had been made far easier for the Trinidad and Tobago Government because the two countries share a common sea border.

This, clearly, is far removed from what the Barbadians have been and are still demanding. And let us face it, these are demands, with the Barbados Government offering nothing in return. Traditionally, when two nations enter into negotiations on issues impacting on each other, it always is with the implied understanding that there can be worked out, a trade off or exchange. Let us return to the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela experience and relations. The two countries are at present exploring the possibility of a joint exploitation of Venezuela’s natural gas reserves for the express purpose of feeding existing and future [additional] liquefied natural gas plants at Point Fortin. Both countries stand to benefit, with the United Kingdom, through BP, the principal shareholder in Atlantic LNG, being a major beneficiary. I ask the question, and not rhetorically: What has Barbados been bringing to the table? That is, apart from the threat of ill conceived and ill concealed retaliatory action? It has not even offered to label any flying fish caught in Trinidad and Tobago territorial waters, as Tobagonian flying fish. Indeed, over the years, plants processing the flying fish caught by Barbados fishermen who have illegally plied their profession in Tobago waters, have tended to market it as ‘Bajan flying fish’!

I had referred earlier to the convenient memory loss of the Government of Barbados. Perhaps there is need to refresh it. And it all has to do with BWIA. The Trinidad and Tobago Government, when it acquired a 90 percent shareholding in BWIA in December of 1961, approached Barbados and other regional Governments to take up shares in BWIA, which would have made it the designated regional airline. Even prior to this, the Government of the short lived West Indies Federation, when the then British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which then owned BWIA, wanted to downsize it, sought to have regional financial participation in the airline. That this failed, because of the negative response of Jamaica to the referendum called by then Jamaican Premier, Norman Washington Manley, on the West Indies Federation, which signalled the eventual collapse of the Federation, is history. The same year — 1961 — the Government of Trinidad and Tobago recognising the importance of BWIA to the development of regional travel and trade, and additionally to the concept of closer Caribbean unity, called on regional Governments to invest in it when it acquired substantial shareholding in the airline.

In 1960, the year immediately prior to Trinidad and Tobago’s acquisition of BWIA, the airline had established a Trinidad and Tobago (and Caribbean) air route to the United Kingdom, via New York, and helped to promote an ever increasing stream of American, British and European tourists and businessmen/women to the region. Barbados, with its emphasis on tourism, profited greatly from this, particularly as “Holiday in Barbados” was a critical component of the airline’s promotion of the Caribbean. In 1967, the Government of Canada, which was interested in a “comprehensive corporate association” between Air Canada and BWIA, approached Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana to “designate BWIA as their national carrier”. Barbados, principally because of its then Prime Minister, Errol Barrow, would have none of it. To this day Barbados has refused to seriously consider having BWIA as the designated regional carrier. If proof had been needed by Barbados (and other regional Governments) of the importance of BWIA to the region, this had been presented in dramatic fashion as a result of the virtual non-operation of BWIA during a sickout by pilots of the airline in the 1970s. But I have strayed. I understand Barbados’ position. It is economic, flavoured by the prospect of an increasing loss of employment opportunities should our waters continue to be off limits to Barbados fishermen intent on reaping netfuls of our flying fish. In turn, the loss of employment and employment opportunities have made it political and the continued survival of the present Administration in Barbados, may down the road, suffer a not insubstantial political hurt from this.

The partisan political hurt is not our concern, but declining job opportunities in a fellow Caricom country, to the extent that we can assist to arrest this, clearly is. We should not allow the intransigence of successive Barbados Administrations vis a vis BWIA to make us forget that. Even in 1977, when Barbados and other Caricom countries refused to have BWIA designated as the regional air carrier, Dr Williams came to their assistance with his Government’s now famous Caribbean Aid Project. The sharp increase in oil prices, which had followed OPEC intervention in Israeli-Arab conflict in the Middle East, and naked United States support for Israel, had hurt non oil exporting Caribbean economies, including Barbados’. The Trinidad Government should consider proposing to the Government of Barbados that it is prepared to grant permits annually to a specified number of that country’s fishing boats to seek catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago waters during a clearly defined fishing season of six months in the year. No trawlers should be allowed. In turn, one sixth of the fishing boats should be allowed to operate in our waters each month under the Agreement. The boats, each of which should be given licences to fish here, should be required to carry special markings. The Government should extend the hand of friendship and assistance as did the Dr Williams Administration before and after 1977, although Trinidad and Tobago may receive nothing in return.