Bridgetown Fisheries Complex Faces Uncertainty After Hurricane Beryl Devastates Fishing Fleet

Vendors and boat owners at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex are worried about the coming days following the destruction of the fishing fleet at the hands of Hurricane Beryl on Monday.

The decimation of the vessels, which were left in a heap along the marina of the complex off the Princess Alice Highway, has dealt a huge blow to their livelihood.

More than 65 boats are either submerged or wrecked beyond seafaring shape, and though the process to clear the marina has begun, fisherfolk have raised concerns over how they will manage if their boats are unable to run their routine fishing trips.

‘It done now’

“The fishing season done, it done now,” said fish vendor Sheena Griffith.

“A little fish was coming here and this just abruptly kill off the fishing season right now.

“We are survivors; eventually we have to find something else to do because most of us we live from pay cheque to pay cheque.”

Griffith said the day before the hurricane, some of the fishermen brought in a steady stock of fish. While some were stored in the freezer, others were swept out to sea in the midst of the stormy conditions.

Vendor Sharon Bellamy-Thompson said fish could be in short supply for a long time.

“There are actually no boats that will be able to go out, some have sank and then the ones that [did not] had some big holes out of them, so it will be a long, long process,” she said.