Both admitted they missed netting flying fish off Tobago, but said they would never go anywhere near the island unless the two states worked out a fishing agreement.
They were reacting to Tuesday's ruling by a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that the two sides had a duty to negotiate a fishing treaty that would allow Bajan fishermen access to fisheries in the twin-island state's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Mason, 46, and Firebrace, 63, were among the last Bajan fishermen arrested and held in a Trinidad prison in February 2004, on charges of illegally fishing in the EEZ.
"I would never like to =go back inside them cells," Mason said. "Those cells stink. . . . They not nice, no proper toilet, not even a bucket, but a hole that was choked up and nobody to come and clear it."
Firebrace, captain of the 37-foot long vessel Deboys, said the food – yellow rice – and water were not fit for consuming, but the most disturbing feature was the way the Coast Guard officers that boarded the two Bajan boats wielded their AK-47 assault rifles.
The two fishing crews were freed under controversial circumstances, with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ordering an investigation into the decision not to prosecute.
Both men told the WEEKEND NATION yesterday that fishing off Tobago, Grenada and Venezuela was a lucrative business, even though not every day would see a good catch of 2 500 to 3 000 flying fish.
"Once they get it sort out, I would be willing to go back there," Firebrace said. "But I don't want to go back in that cell again. You just want to be careful and be on the safe side."
Mason said he was keen to fish off Tobago again, but that would depend on whether the two sides reached a binding agreement.
However, Firebrace admitted that he was not optimistic of a quick deal. "This is going to take years to sort out," he predicted.
"If they can get everything worked out, it would be great for the fishermen here in Barbados, who could fish comfortable without the Coast Guard harassing them," Mason commented.
Firebrace said there had to be a clear determination of where Trinidad and Tobago's waters started because it seemed that the republic was claiming most of the sea as its own.
Under the circumstances, "If you are 40 miles from Tobago it is no better than two miles because they (the Coast Guard) are still going to hold you the same way," he complained. ". . . All I want to know is how many miles we (can) fish off Trinidad."