The fishing industry, has for many years, been a major economic activity in the Soufriere/Scotts Head community but it was dealt a devastating blow by Hurricane Maria in 2017. So, Dominica News Online (DNO) went to that community recently, to get a sense of how the recovery of that vital economic earner for the area is progressing, sixteen months after Maria.
One fisherman of Soufriere, Stevenson Birmingham, who was interviewed by DNO, said he is satisfied with the progress that has been made in resuscitating fishing activity in Soufriere after Hurricane Maria. He said he received a cheque from the government which assisted him after he lost some of his fishing equipment.
“After Hurricane Maria, the government gave us some money which I used .. to buy more lines and have been living off it for the past time. My machine also got lost and they replaced it, but besides that, my issue is gas to do proper fishing.”
Birmingham is of the view that, “Things are going good with the fishermen.”
But Scuba Dive Master at Scotts Head, Jefferson Jervier, has a somewhat different perspective. He told DNO that the fishing industry in his community is still recovering from the effects of the most destructive storm to hit the country.
He said the majority of fishermen lost their equipment and are having difficulty getting back to normalcy and only some of them have received assistance from the government.
“Mostly, all the fisherman lost their boats and engines and some are still struggling to put back everything together,” Jervier said. “The government issued some cheques for mostly all fishermen that lost their belongings but it still wasn’t sufficient enough to cover the costs of their equipment.”
Jervier said more improvement is needed and this will require more ‘active’ assistance from the government as the area depends on the fishing industry for economic sustenance.
Parliamentary Representative for the Soufriere constituency, Denise Charles, also spoke to DNO and pointed out that there are different factors to be considered in rehabilitating a hurricane-ravaged industry in her constituency in which 95% of the fishermen got affected.
“Most of them got the grant that the government issued to help them right after the hurricane. We have been working with the fishermen to restore their lively hood where we’ve provided boats to some fishermen, replaced many motors, nets, ropes and all equipment they need to do their fishing,” she said.
Charles added, “The only fishermen that are probably still waiting on assistance are those that need both boats and motors. On last week Friday we gave out two boats and then we also assisted those who had the smaller type of boats. We also assisted some with wooden boats from the Carib territory.”
The Soufriere MP mentioned ‘major’ recovery plans for the fishing industry in Soufriere and Scotts Head which include an ongoing building boat project under which boats will be delivered every month to fisher folk who were affected.
“We are going to be rebuilding the fisher folks’ locker rooms which they had, and we’re also looking at a fisheries building which will include a fish processing plant. We are actually in the design phase of that project in the Soufriere industry,” Charles stated. “We also have an effective boat building project where local boat builders are building boats for fisher folks.”
What happened to all those millions and millions the Prime Minister and Minister of finance got from the world community? Is the money in the Dominican treasury or in some personal bank account overseas in Florida, the Cayman Islands or Switzerland? INTERPOL needs to conduct an instigation as to the whereabouts of all those millions. If the usual suspects misused the money they should be held to account.
And still no talk of a jetty, what a shame!!!
Soufriere/Scottshead needs to set itself up similar to how Gros Islet has. Make the area a destination not just for tourist but for locals who are looking for a good seafood meal and entertainment in a safe environment. Or do something like the Strip in St Kitts. Too much old rum shop and people hanging around on the roadside doing nothing. Get the country popping with real industry and commerce. Use the trails in the area and scottshead and Soufriere’s rich history as selling points as many tourists love a history with products and services. Look Sam building the hotel on top of all you. Use that as a means to elevate yourselves instead of waiting for politics to tell you if you can even breathe or not. empower yourselves and your communities to improve your own standards of living.
A big AMEN to that!!!!!!
Extremely well articulated. Bravo!
People from Soufriere and Scotts Head place too much reliance on the Red Clinic instead of being proactive and empowered.
weh weh weh
we could say only now ?
better late than never
that is, only if election
wasn’t around the corner
So long Maria tore us apart
have you guys just found a heart, or
for our vote you want us to play a part.
so yes we will vote from our Heart.
How about providing them assistance with management of their businesses. is it possible to have some sort of insurance scheme for fisherfolk? Curious
The average Dominican doesnt want people to be involved in their business and tell them how to run it. a lot of the times many of these projects and technical assistance efforts fail because it is like teaching old dogs new tricks. do you know how much assistance we have gotten? assistance the running the country, in collaboration with cbi. we not producing or being productive. we not working smart. so many fallen trees, yet we fail to realize the value of the lumber. i not giving them no more technical assistance to help manage nothing. waste of money. facilitators like ndfd or dexia or whoever will get their big money, the people will be left holding a stick that they know not what to do with.
Government has to be proactive and efficient. The government should thoroughly assess the needs of the bona fide fishermen directly from them. Pump the appropriate collateral into this industry to set it afloat as the people’s livelihood is at stake. Do follow up assessments to ascertain progress made and if there is a need for more effort and resources. The time for talk and promises is over, this is a time for deeds to be accomplished. Farming and fishing should be two of the most prominent industries in Dominica. These two occupations help with food sufficiency.
Empty promises from this corrupt government,the people still continue to vote for more misery with no change,so who cares.
Facts!!!
“How can you be sitting there
Telling me that you care –
That you care?
When every time I look around,
The people suffer in the suffering
In everyway, in everywhere”