Docks, boat fenders in need of repair at Bridgetown Fish Market

THE docks and boat fenders at the Bridgetown Fish Market are in need of repair.

This along with boats stuck under broken docks, and damaged old tyres in the water and on the sea basin are some of the challenges fishermen are facing.

Yesterday, The Barbados Advocate visited the market to speak to the fishermen about how the recent rough sea conditions were affecting them. However, one fisherman, Wade Gittens, who has been operating in Bridgetown for 31 years, highlighted the issue of securing fishermen’s boats at the cramped docks of the Bridgetown Fish Market.

He explained that the docks, which have become cracked and chipped due to age and boats hitting the area, are a major issue. For the fishermen to dock their vessels, they need to have boat fenders to help prevent the boats from sliding under the dock.

He showed that with high tide, the boats would find themselves stuck under the dock. One of his fellow fishermen pointed out that the boat he usually works on has been jammed under the dock since December 30, 2019. It will take several hours of manpower to remove the trapped vessel.

Gittens noted that there is a need to repair not only the dock but the boat fenders as well, since the current ones have become detached. He added that before, the original boat fenders were tyres affixed to wood but due to wood-eating worms, many tyres are now littered on the bottom of the sea basin. The experienced fisherman added that some of the floating tyres can get into the fishermen’s boat propellers, damaging their boats.

He said he and his colleagues are willing to remove the tyres in the water, but they would need a skip to place the discarded materials. Other challenges for the fishermen include an ageing ice machine, damaged pillars in the fish market and the high cost of diesel to fuel their boats.