Fishermen send SoS to Imbert

Yesterday the fishermen held a media briefing Member of Parliament Dr Lackram Bodoe at the Otaheite Fishing Depot.

President of the Otaheite Vendors Association Clement Charles told Sunday Newsday 99 percent of the vendors were unable to sell their fish stocks as consumers were not buying.

“Nothing is selling, consumers are panicking presently and the vendors are losing sales. We are now calling on the acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert to address the situation.

We the vendors have no money and the fishing industry is now dying,” he said.

Charles said there was a miscommunication on what was sent out to the public about recent incidents of fish washing ashore.

“We need to have good communication with the consumers so we can sell our fresh sea food daily,” he said. He further said dialogue was needed between Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat and the public about the fish stocks.

“Consumers must know exactly what is taking place, what is safe to eat and what is unsafe and who is accountable for what,” he said.

He said vendors also have a responsibility to provide for their families.

“They have school books to buy and groceries, what are they going to do now?” Charles said officials of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) have been playing a “cat and mouse game” with the fishermen.

“They said at first that the fish was good to eat because we have a clip of them buying big shrimp and more and then a few days after to say that the fish had Corexit and is unsafe to eat,” he said.

Bodoe said fishermen were now faced with “very unfortunate circumstances”.

“We seem to have a loss of confidence in the system because I realize there have been many conflicting reports as to what is happening and this is leaving the general population and the key stakeholders, the fishermen, vendors and so on very confused,” he stated.