Roy Harewood, who has been fishing for the past 50 years, lays a concerned hand on his ailing 30-year-old fishing boat, Trident, now undergoing repairs on land to make her seaworthy again.

by Karin Dear

FISHERMEN AT Consett Bay Market in St John are praying fervently that Government will step up to the plate and provide them, as well as hundreds of other island-wide fishing boat owners, with an urgently needed "safe harbour".

Among them is 71-year-old Roy Harewood, who has looked to the sea as a source of his livelihood for the past 50 years.

When a SUNDAY SUN team visited the market last Thursday, the septuagenarian had his cap pulled closely over his eyes to filter out the water's reflective glare as he cleaned several small red snappers.

His steel grey face stubble glistened with perspiration.

It was only 9 a.m. but already the sun was churning out its heat.

The veteran fisherman was flanked by other relatives who, for years, have followed his lead in ekeing out a living from the briny waters.

Mouth-watering pot fish, popularly called "chubs", lie haphazardly beside the more elegant red snappers whose fat bellies promise a sumptuous evening meal for
a passing tourist.

But today, Harewood's boat is in need of some engine repairs and sits listlessly on the land nearby.

"When my boat is sick, I am sick," he says sadly as he escorts the newspaper team to his 30-year-old pride and joy.

Tenderly, he places his hand on her salt-warped side, as though feeling for a fever.

For the moment she is safe, but as soon as she "gets better" and returns to the sea she will face the risks of pounding swells should a storm hit the island.

Small wonder that he, along with his cousin, John Harewood, 63, and younger family member Chad Harewood, just 33, and a fisherman "since secondary school", are praying that Consett Bay will be converted into a "safe harbour" through the implementation of a series of boulders or dolos (500-tonne concrete jack-shaped structures) designed to keep angry storm-tossed seas away from vulnerable
small craft.

Across from the market, on the land side, sit several members of the new, younger generation of fishermen.

They're cooling out and slapping a few dominos, while a small makeshift stove heats a coal-black "all-in-one" pot, that soon will provide an early lunch.

The fishermen try not to dwell on the impending dangers they face should a hurricane or other serious storm warning sound through the idyllic parish.

"I used to take my boat to the Port St Charles marina," said Harewood.

Last Sunday, this newspaper carried several reports including one which carried an invitation to Barbadian boat owners from marina and haul-up operators in Trinidad and Tobago, to berth their vessels safely in that neighbouring CARICOM island.

"That's alright for some of the rich folks who can afford all that fuel to make that 15 or 20 hour crossing," said one fisherman.

"But for us, such a trip is just too expensive. We just can't afford to pay for that much diesel. Someone needs to be looking after us, here."