Govt refuses to lift ban against Hope fishermen

…“it’s non-negotiable”- Min Holder declares

The ban imposed against fishermen, preventing them from operating at the Hope Canal, is said to be “non-negotiable”.
This announcement was made by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder during Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly, after he was probed by Member of Parliament (MP) Nigel Dharamlall in respect to the measures that the Ministry has set to ensure that fishermen ply their trade unhindered.
Holder indicated that the fishermen had not sought permission before using the canal to dock their vessels. He recalled that for a number of years, the men were utilising the Hope Drainage Canal Outlet Channel. It was after the establishment of the Hope Canal that they chose to shift for the purpose of mooring their boats.
“After the construction of the eight-door relief sluice at Hope — this was commissioned in 2015 — some fishermen from the Hope drainage outfall started to moor their vessels at the Hope Relief Outfall Channel,” the Minister stated.
The Minister also highlighted that the migration, which began in early 2017, has been rapidly increasing over the past months. As a result, many challenges have been faced with when the men utilise the canal at various hours during the day, since they work in correspondence with the changing tides.
“The passage of fishermen and, who knows, perhaps other persons of questionable character at varying hours during the night has caused a security nightmare at the site, and has resulted in numerous confrontations and threats between the site security and the fishermen,” he stated at the National Assembly.
Furthermore, it was revealed that a site in close proximity to the canal, which normally houses valuables such as generators, motors and wenches, holds an accumulated cost of $43.7 million.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is reluctant to expose the site and its valuables to any fish trader,” Holder said.
In response to a question posed by Dharamlall, asking whether the gates leading to the canal would be open for the vehicles of the fish traders, Holder said that from the time the Hope Relief Sluice was constructed, there was always a gate at the beginning of the road, near the East Coast Public Road.
However, that gate has been relocated, he said, and a fence has also been added to prevent vehicles from “continuing to traverse the high level dam”, as he claims that this could result in a breach, which could also prove to cause severe flooding in the Ann’s Grove village, among other nearby areas.
Earlier this month, a notice was subsequently served by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), preventing the men from docking their fishing vessels at the canal. Due to this, several concerns were raised to address the situation, which led to their dockage at the opening of the canal.
This included the damages that their boats receive by forceful waves when they are left in the open, which results in losses to their earnings and livelihoods.
Fishermen have stated that they simply cannot relocate to the koker, since they reasoned that it was smaller and incapable of lending support to all of the vessels during high tides and inclement weather conditions. Some had even agreed to tie their fishing boats away from the canal, where it would not pose a threat to the water flow or structures.
Those who operate at the canal had pleaded with Government for the decision to be reviewed, noting that their only intention is to harbour their boats and save the vessels from incurring losses.