CaribPunch : Top stories in the Caribbean: June 2021

Catching Tuna can be both fun and educational

With memories of Gold, I look back at these photos and remember what fun times we had chasing tuna out on the open sea. All the preparations that were made before going out and putting our droplines together was so awesome but catching something at the end of the day was the icing on the cake. This training was done with us with the collaborative effort of UNDP ICCAS and Sustainable Grenadines a few years ago... read to the end to see what we did and how we made such a lovely catch so easy for our small open boats.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday, we were all going crazy over the idea of FAD fishing. Just the thought of being able to target your fish in one specific area in the open sea, what a win win for us as fisherfolk. Reducing Carbon emission and practicing sustainable Marine resource management, we all tried to play our role in developing a sustainable fisheries plan.

For most who may not be aware, a Woman's role is fisheries is very limited in our part of the world and has been so for the past couple of decades really, even as far back as I can remember. Women have been limited to jobs which are stationary such as Fish vendors at our local fish markets or sales person and even offices Clerks or secretarial work in the Fisheries sector. That was until I met a pretty phenomenal woman by the name Gilma Clement, who resides on the island of Carriacou.

Gilma in her blue T-shirt

Gilma is a mother and Grandmother with the heart of a lion and courage of Lioness. She has done much to care for he children while pursuing her life passion. She is also a bus driver and does her little farming on the side but boy is she a one of hell of a fisherwoman. She is one of the few that has lived through the years of discrimination for women in the fisheries sector and is still rolling...

In the next image, you will see one of her best catches of the day when we went out as a convoy to do some FAD Fishing by the FADS we had constructed and deployed for use by our local fisherfolk.

Gilma Holding her freshly caught Tuna after a morning of FAD Fishing

For those who may not be familiar with the term FAD Fishing, here is a brief explanation:

A fish aggregating (or aggregation) device (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract ocean-going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks. FADs attract fish for numerous reasons that vary by species.

Fish tend to move around FADs in varying orbits, rather than remaining stationary below the buoys. Both recreational and commercial fisheries use FADs.

With that information in mind our Group began constructing our own FADS over a period of days. It took almost about a week and a half to put all the stuff together but we were determined to do it and with the motivation of Mama Gilma not a moment was boring. The FADS consisted of blue tarp strapped onto bamboo rods that are attached to hundreds of meters of rope which is then secured to an anchor and drop to the bottom of the sea.

Joining of Buoys for FAD floatation

Securing of Tarp onto Bamboo for FAD deployment

Over time fish congregate around the FAD and Fisherfolk are given Guidelines to follow when using these devices i.e no seining, no tying onto the FAD, fish extraction sizes for the different species etc all in efforts to maintain a healthy ecosystem and ensure a sustainable sector for our future generations.

During my time with the fisherfolks in Carriacou and in our training sessions, we have met other women who are also interested in Fishing like my friend Ea, who is a born Kayak ( a term used for persons born on Carriacou. She is another one of the good fisher women as well and one of my closest friends. She is considered a pro in my opinion because she can dive and is also scuba certified. Don't Judge the book by the cover went it comes to Ea, she will definitely surprise you, for sure...

Ea during our Dropline training for use around the FAD

I must make special mention of our dropline training. A dropline is a commercial fishing device, consisting of a long fishing line set vertically down into the water, with a series of fishing hooks attached to snoods.

Droplines may be set either down underwater cliffs or just in the water column. They have a weight at the bottom of the line and a float at the top. They are not usually as long as longlines and have fewer hooks. We use these to entanglement and damaged to our FADS. FADS do require maintenance once the are damaged so ensuring that the are not damaged is of utmost importance to our Fisheries. Our fishers are recommended to cut any dropline that becomes entangled with our FADS to avoid damage.

All in all the future looks bright for Women in the Fisheries sector and once we have women like Mama Gilma and Ea were are definitely on the path to success...

I have been chatting with you about our fishing way of life for quite a bit but have not introduced myself. My name is Keisha and I am a Fisherwoman too. Below you will find a picture of me and my equipment. If you are interested in what we are doing please suscribe to my blog for updates, much love to my readers....

That was a heavy catch 270 pound marlin doing dropline fishing. It was reeled in by another boat in our convoy led by Gilma's son Joshua Clement and the Infamous Sweet boy. It took them a while to reel it into their small open boat but it was done. The fish was so big it had to be placed in a bent "C" position across the with of the boat until they got to the shore. The fish was too big for the small ice box, I am afraid, but it was done...

Here we are outside the Fisher market in Hillsborough Carriacou.