By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
April 14, 2023
With dwindling flying fish stock in Barbados waters, many fishermen in the last two years have been venturing further out to neighbouring island, Tobago in hopes catching the Barbados delicacy.
But in recent weeks, the matter seems to have gotten out of hand, with Tobago fishermen calling on the authorities to step in and provide an amicable solution.
Flying fish is known as the national dish in Barbados, but its fishermen have not been able to keep up with the demands, especially peak seasons such as Christmas and the most recent, Easter Lenten period. They are however attributing the shortage of the breed of fish due to the impact climate change is having on their waters, from the influx of sargassum seaweed affecting them plying their trade, to the change in water temperatures, causing the fish to move a little lower south into Trinidad and Tobago waters.
The matter is no stranger to both islands as the issue has been a source of contention between the two CARICOM member states as far as history can be told, with it landing before an Arbitration court in the Netherlands some 20 years aback. While there is no standard maritime agreement specific to the two states, it is understood according to each countries that while foreign vessels are not permitted to fish in Trinidad and Tobago waters, any fishing by foreign-flagged vessels in Trinidad and Tobago waters will be deemed illegal, and any one observing foreign-flagged vessels fishing in Trinidad and Tobago waters should inform the Coast Guard.
Tobago fishermen says the entry of Barbadian fishing vessels have been an added cause for the depletion of fish they would normally catch at sea, outside of flying fish. This latest fight on the waters has made earning a living for Tobago fishermen challenging, and has prompted them to write a letter to the Office of the TT Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley in hopes of intervention, as calls for the TT Coast Guard to intervene have gone unanswered, along with requests for the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and its relevant agencies to intervene.
If the history of talks on bridging the divide when it comes to Barbados’ pursuit of the flying fish is traced, it will tell of the relationship which dates to the 1970s, when both then- Prime ministers George Chambers and Sir Harold Bernard St John, agreed that Barbadian fishermen could fish in T&T’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), for the first agreement between the two countries to be signed in 1986. This meant the “countries had to expand their zone of economic control of the sea off their coast from their territorial limit of 22.2 km to greater 370 km Exclusive Economics Zones (EEZ). EEZs were formally recognized under the Third United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea, which gave individual countries the recognized right to regulate the use of resources like fish off their coast that were once common property open to the international fishing community”.
But shortly after in the 1990s, the matter arose again, with reports of at least one Barbadian fishermen being arrested, charged and fined for fishing illegally off Tobago’s waters. The 1990 agreement allowed up to 40 boats owned by Barbadians to travel down and fish in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Trinidad and Tobago, for a US$800 license fee. Furthermore, each boat would only be allowed five trips during the fishing season, and the boats could be no longer than 15 meters. However, this agreement only lasted for one year.
Continuous lapses in negotiations in the early 2000s saw additional Barbadian fishermen arrested and fined again. Resumption of talks on January 15 2003, which had re-started in March 2002. But there continued to be continuous infractions with November 2004 two fishermen having been caught with 3,500 flying fish in T&T waters were freed to go back home with their catch. This had come after then prime minister Basdeo Panday had warned that the Coast Guard would apprehend Barbadian fishermen caught in T&T waters. His statement had followed after Barbados’ then Attorney General, Mia Mottley gave way to her local fishermen permission to catch flying fish in their neighbour’s waters, an entitlement she saw fitting that came with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that states that every nation is entitled to 12 miles of the territorial sea. It would not be until 2006, when both parties sought settlement of the dispute through diplomatic means at the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague in the Netherlands. After reviewing the dispute, the court ruled on a compromise decision. It was ruled that the exact lines of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of the two nations would be decided. Once this was established the Barbadian fishermen would have a limited right to access the waters of Trinidad and Tobago to catch flying fish. However, as the Barbadian fishermen would be fishing in waters belonging to Trinidad and Tobago and the agreement must be acceptable to the government and fishermen of Trinidad and Tobago. While a compromise had been reached the agreement meant that both parties were able to claim some sort of victory, and both peace and fishing would be able to return to the waters of the Caribbean. While in 2009, an agreement was signed, it is said that since then it has expired.
Yet again, a decade later, the lapse in talks has resulted in the current predicament.
To date, neither country has shared anything on the matter, with Barbados’ National Union of Fisherfolk Organisation Vernel Nicholls choosing to reserve her comments until after the Government of Barbados responds to the accusations of overfishing and bullying by Barbados fishermen in Tobago waters.
Curtis Douglas president of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA) says if no resolve is met, they intend to protest outside the Barbados High Commission, in Port of Spain in an attempt to get authorities to respond.
With Mia Mottley, ten years later, now Prime Minister of Barbados, it has been encouraged for Barbados’ fishermen to communicate with their Tobago counterparts. Since then, the matter has simply been something of an acknowledged understanding between the two nations, without any formal legal agreement on demarcation. Perhaps some answers might be reached, when the Barbadian PM visits her twin island neighbours, T&T for a crime regional symposium next week. During the Christmas season, the rarity of the fish forced Bajan fishermen to sell their catch priced at 10 fish for between $17 and $22 US dollars. Some counted their losses, having to spend all day out at sea in search for the national fish.
For Barbadians, the flying fish is a national delicacy, with it even on one of its coins. It is a prized meal, often served with Cou-Cou (a cornmeal and okra based polenta dish).