(Charlestown, Nevis) – Damage from Hurricane Omar was suffered all along the west coast of Nevis and as in the case of the Four Seasons, some has yet to be fixed. One such place is the fisherman’s pier at the waterfront. When the waves pounded the pier, they knocked the boards off the jetty making it dangerous to use. But some make their living from the sea and need to use the jetty, so they brave the danger. “It wouldn’t cost too much to replace the boards, but it needs to be about 15 feet longer,’said one fisherman. “When the water is capping, it isn’t deep enough to use. There are a lot of big rocks under it and when the water gets rough, my boat starts hitting the rocks.”The fishermen are feeling forgotten, he said. For a small investment by the government, the fishermen of Charlestown could have a much better quality of life. “This isn’t easy work. You gain some and you give some,”he said. “I wish we could get some help with the little things, like wire for our fish pots. The wire is expensive, but we have to have it. Under CCM, we were supposed to get some wire donated for free, but I heard they took it and sold it, same way with some radios that were supposed to be given to us. We never saw those either.”Equipping fishermen with radios would have made the job safer. Presently, when the humidity is high and the skies are hazy, the fishermen can not go very far out to sea because they lose sight of land and risk being lost. This prevents them from catching more and bigger fish. “Some people have small compasses they carry, but there is no substitute for being able to see land,”he said. “It is still dangerous because if you have engine trouble and can’t get a signal on your phone, it is a life and death situation. There are plenty of fish, but most are out farther than many are willing to go. Still I have been doing this for over 20 years and there are things I would like to see change, but I don’t expect it.”While they don’t expect anything extra, losing what ground they have stings. Recently, shade trees used by the fishermen at the waterfront were cut down. A makeshift canopy has been erected in place of the missing trees to provide a bit of shade. “They come down here and cut our shade down,”he said. “They say it’s because there’s gambling. People do gamble down here, but they also clean their fish, eat their lunch and rest. They didn’t have to cut those trees down. So what if they gambling, nobody getting hurt here.”
