‘I learnt my lesson’

Francesco ‘Billy’ Reid, one of 33 fishermen who returned to Jamaica Friday following detention in Colombia for illegal fishing, said he has no intention of going offshore in the future.

The 48-year-old told The Gleaner that he mainly fishes inshore, but joins a large group at least three times a year to venture farther out sea, a trip that usually lasts 10 days.

Their latest was the third time this year that the fishers from Westmoreland, Portland, St Thomas, St Catherine and other parishes went on an expedition.

Reid explained that on these occasions, they are hired to fish on the vessel and are paid based on the size of their catch.

“We didn’t realise that that area was Colombian water. Off the bank of Pedro, it’s 86 miles, so that really is our water … When they [coastguard] came upon us, we were really surprised. Nobody wasn’t running or anything because we knew we were in legal water, but after that they told us that it’s their water and we’re illegally fishing in their water,” recalled Reid, who has been fishing since he was a teen.

Jamaica’s foreign ministry was advised on October 19 by the Jamaica Defence Force that a Jamaican fishing vessel registered under the name Hope-On had been detained by Colombian authorities.

Some 6,430 kilograms of parrot fish were also found on the vessel, which had 41 people onboard.

“That’s it for me. I learnt my lesson. Right now, it’s Colombian waters, that is what I know now. That’s not for me anymore, not even my friends. Everybody quit,” said Reid.

“We are not fishermen that fish in illegal waters, we stay in our boundaries. We thought we were in our boundaries; that’s why we were there. If we knew we were in Colombia’s water, technically, we wouldn’t be in there because that’s not our policy. It’s like a catch-22 situation.”

The fisherman said they were taken to San Andrés where the captain of the vessel was charged.

He said there were no complaints about the hospitality of the Colombian coastguardsmen, but the owner of the vessel was responsible for meals and water.

“We didn’t have any water to cook. We couldn’t really get in a lot of food, so the food was like limited because we were on a navy base and the security level was high. They allowed us to stay on the wharf and we could walk to the bathroom without security and move around,” he said.

Reid shared that his family was very concerned about his whereabouts and safety because he could not make any phone calls to inform them about the turn of events.

He said some of the fishermen grew frustrated about the repatriation delay, which spurred them to shoot a video which has made the rounds on social media.

Reid said he was warmly welcomed by his family at his Old Harbour Bay residence around 3 a.m. on Saturday, but is uncertain about when he will return to sea, as all his equipment was seized.

“It’s kinda really tough right now,” he said, disclosing that it would cost approximately $150,000 to replace them.

In November 1993, Jamaica and Colombia signed a Maritime Delimitation Treaty that established a joint regime area in which both countries agreed to establish “a zone of joint management, control, exploration, and exploitation of the living and non-living resources”.

CEO of the National Fisheries Authority, Dr Gavin Bellamy, said that Colombian authorities said the fishermen were found in their territorial waters.

“They drifted out or they moved out of the joint area and into territorial waters in Colombia. They are required to contact the National Fisheries Authority and tell us that they would like to go and fish in the joint area. They would get the permit and licence necessary to fish in the joint area and then there is communication between the two countries,” he explained.

Bellamy was unable to confirm if a request had been submitted by the owner of the vessel or any of the fishermen.

Former chairman of the Jamaica Fishermen’s Co-operative Union, Shawn Taylor, said that Jamaica has 200 nautical miles to the south, and that fishermen have for years gone to Banco Nuevo, owned by the Colombians because they service the lighthouse there.

“There is equipment to tell fishermen how far out they are, but when you’re at sea, you’re not even paying attention to that sometimes because you’re so concentrated on getting a catch. The sea is an open space and it’s not like you have a sign to say this is Colombian water,” he said.

Taylor added that there are ongoing sensitisation sessions being held across the island with fishermen on a number of topics, including territorial boundaries.

In a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on Friday, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith appealed to fishermen and boat owners to fish responsibly in Jamaican waters and not to extend their operations into the territorial waters of neighbouring countries to avoid detention of crew and seizure of vessels.

“The minister also reminded that the foreign ministry will be working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to establish a policy to govern our approach to such matters going forward,” the statement read, in part.

Bellamy told The Gleaner that any policy that will improve the relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the fisheries authority to resolve similar issues in a speedy manner is welcome.

“We are working towards creating MOUs with our partners at PICA, Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Security to shore up these things,” he said, referencing the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency.

Meanwhile, the owner of the vessel has reportedly committed to reimbursing the government at least half of the cost of fuel purchased by the Jamaica Defence Force to undertake the repatriation exercise.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com