Fishermen from Carli Bay, Couva staged a fiery protest along the Carli Bay Road around 3 pm on Tuesday after they were reportedly held up at gunpoint by pirates.
Imtiaz Khan, president of the Carli Bay Fishing Association, said around ten boats, operated by fishermen from Carli Bay were in the waters off Marabella when around 10 am a boatload of gunmen approached them and told them they could not fish in that area.
Khan said, “The gunmen said the orders came from the top that they can’t fish down south.” Khan said the same thing happens when the boatmen attempt to fish in waters off north Trinidad, “There are gunmen and they are cutting their nets.”
Khan said he contacted the Coast Guard, the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Riverine Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service who all advised him to make a report at the nearest police station. Khan claimed that when he went to the Couva Police Station he was told that the police could not take a report from him since he was not present when the incident reportedly occurred.
Khan said the association has been asking for patrols at sea for several years. He said 200 fishermen from the area operate under duress in the Gulf of Paria. He said the Director of Fisheries assured on Tuesday that patrols from the Coast Guard would take place today, Wednesday.
“We can’t go anywhere to catch fish. I have documents where we went to the Ministers of National Security (past) both Stuart Young and Minister (Fitzgerald) Hinds and the Prime Minister and we were promised a Coast Guard base at the Plipdeco Port. They instead put one at the San Fernando Yacht Club where there are no boats now," he claimed.
He said in 2019 and 2021 a total of nine fishermen were killed from the Carli Bay and the Orange Valley areas.
Other fishermen said they have been robbed of their engines and valuables in the past. One fisherman who wished not to be named said, "I don’t know if this is a turf war or drug men want to control the waters. If we can’t fish we would have to turn to a life of crime. Fishing is what we can do, plenty of youths here, this is the only job they have."
