High seas hold dread for fishers

David Bloomfield was just 10 years old when he went on his first fishing expedition, but despite being robbed on the high seas by gunmen and several frightening encounters with sharks, he says he still feels much safer in the ocean than he does on land.

Bloomfield will be celebrating 43 years as a fisherman on Thursday, and as he sat under a shed at the Old Harbour Fishing Village in St Catherine on Monday, he recounted happy and not-so-fond memories.

“Nuff people say why mi go a sea, but it gives me peace of mind,” he said.

Friday’s disappearance of 15 Hondurans aboard the Falling Star fishing boat who were on their way to Jamaica for the lobster season has sparked fresh concerns about the dangers that lurk in the deep. A multi-agency search team was up to Monday unsuccessful in their efforts to locate the men, who were travelling in a vessel owned by Rainforest Seafood.

“All kind of things possible, you know. Man can all hold them up and kill them, too, and sink the boat and take away their cargo. I am not saying is it, because I am hoping is not it,” said the fisherman.

The Jamaica Defence Force said that the vessel was en route from Roaton, Honduras, to Port Royal, when communication was lost. Its last known position was 77 nautical miles west of Middle Cay on the Pedro Banks.

Bloomfield is very familiar with the Pedro Banks. He has made several trips to the location over the years, with his longest stint lasting one year and six months.

Shark threat

Now he stays closer home and oftentimes places his fish pots out at Pigeon Island, which is about nine miles away from Old Harbour.

“I’ve seen too much of my friends them get eaten by sharks, and the size of the sharks that I see coming now, it don’t make sense,” he said when asked why he no longer ventures farther out.

In March, two of Bloomfield’s friends, Michael ‘Mikey’ Smith and Glen ‘Short Man’ Bernard, disappeared after they went out to sea. Two days later, remains and clothing believed to be that of Bernard were taken from the stomach of a shark caught in the vicinity of where the fishermen went missing.

Smith’s daughter, Shemel Smith, believes her father was also eaten by a shark since a DNA test conducted on the hand taken from the shark has since confirmed that it belonged to Bernard.

“Most likely is the same thing that happened to him,” she said, referring to her father.

The Old Harbour resident said she remembers her dad especially on Sundays – the day he went to sea.

Delroy Smith, who has been fishing for 46 years, said he, too, is nearing retirement as the seas have become much more dangerous. He believes that the Falling Star might have sunk with the Honduran fishermen or it might have diverted somewhere else.

“Mi los’ a sea for two days already, but I was on the Eastern Cay near Port Royal,” he said.

Although it is becoming more challenging to secure a catch compared to 20 years ago, Smith is happy about the vast improvement that has taken place at the Pedro Cays that has made life less unbearable for fishermen.

“It is better now, because you have women there now and more boat a travel, so you have water, more food, and everything,” he said.

The fishermen have been monitoring the local media for more news about the missing Hondurans, but up to Monday Roger Lyn, director of marketing and corporate affairs at Rainforest Seafoods, said there was no new update.

“We are still keeping our fingers crossed,” he said.

nadine.wilson@gleanerjm.com