FA0 – Fishing is considered as one of the most dangerous professions with fatality rates worldwide and the Caribbean is no exception. The captains and crew on small-scale vessels are often not well trained in handling their vessels safely, do not possess or carry safety gears, lack adequate navigation and communication equipment. In addition, they are not sufficiently prepared for emergency situations at sea, and have generally limited knowledge of outboard engine repair, limited awareness of early warning and safety risk management and basic marine traffic rules or emergency first aid. These unsafe fishing conditions and risks to fishermen’s life are compounded further by the prevalence and destruction of natural disasters and climate change as weather events continue to increase in frequency and severity. Fishers have also indicated based on their personal experiences, that the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable.

As a result, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the guidance of Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation Industry and Labour hosted and led four training workshops in January, February, March and June for 120 fishers. The Safety at Sea training targeted over ten different communities, two held on mainland St. Vincent, one in Bequia and one in Mayreau. The workshop consisted of classroom sessions and practical exercises at sea and each participant received training materials and will subsequently also be given a VHF radio, lifejacket and a compass to improve safety at sea.

Iris Monnereau, Regional Project Coordinator of the Climate Change Adaptation of the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector Project CC4FISH of FAO, indicated that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded the training. She stated, “The safety of fishers is compromised in the region with great impacts of the loss of life. FAO has therefore supported improved safety of fisherfolk in the region through development of a regional safety at sea course integrating international conventions and agreements and training of approximately 1,700 fishers in the Eastern Caribbean in safety at sea”. She added, “The safety at sea trainings in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are the last trainings under the CC4FISH project.  We are also grateful that we were also able to provide safety equipment and are confident we will see improved safety conditions of fisherfolk in the region”.

The officers of The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard Services and the Fisheries Division in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour conducted the Safety at Sea training.

Grayson Stephens, Petit Officer of the Coastguard, said that he appreciated the opportunity to educate others in safety at sea best practices and that the fishers who took part in the workshop were very receptive. He highlighted, “Fishers shared experiences from the past where they would have encountered distress at sea because they were under supplied or unable to transmit their locations accurately. I am very confident that the fishers would do better in the future, having built their capacity over the course of the workshop”.

Similarly, Senior Fisheries Assistant in the Fisheries Division, Ernie Bracken, indicated, “Safety is of paramount importance to the Fisheries Division and I’m appealing to fishers to take safety at sea seriously.” He stated that in the past there would have been casualties resulting from neglect on the part of fishers in not carrying the proper equipment. However, he stressed that the fishers were very receptive of the information shared during the sessions and by all indications were willing to improve and take safety at sea more seriously in the future.

Norbet Dembar, a 63 year old fisher from Mayreau, highlighted that he has been fishing since he was fourteen 14. “The training was a very good thing. I loved it!” He added that that due to the workshop he now has a better understanding of the safety at sea concepts and using the necessary equipment such as radios and compasses.

Troy Gellizeau, a 45 year old fisher from Union Island, stated that the workshop was edifying and he enjoyed learning best practices for deploying at sea such as having adequate equipment and a good supply of water. He indicated that knowledge of the sea is never too much to know and he is actually looking forward to passing on the knowledge that he would have gained in the workshop with other fishers on Union Island.

Kris Isaacs, Senior Fisheries Officer, and CC4Fish National Focal Point stressed that he was very pleased with the roll out of the safety at sea workshops especially given increasing concerns not just regionally, but globally over the direct and indirect impacts of climate change and climate variability on marine capture fisheries. He stated one of the things that he liked about the project are the “tangible benefits” available to fishers, such as the equipment which they can use to make their every-day activities safer.

He highlighted, “Fisheries is a growing sector in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and policies, investments and innovations that not only look to restore the productive capacity of our oceans, but also increase the economic benefits and livelihood opportunities of our stakeholders are essential. This is especially the case when it comes to encouraging new entrants to get into the Industry.” He reiterated that the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was grateful to FAO for the provision of technical guidance, financial execution and operations over the course of the project, and he looked forward to future initiatives.