FISHERMEN should not be allowed to venture into Trinidad and Tobago's waters unknown to the authorities of the twin-island republic.

That's the view of CARICOM Ambassador Denis Kellman who told a group of fisherman from the Weston, St James market Wednesday evening that security was a serious matter.

"If you go into Tobago and you do what you have to do and they acknowledge you're there, in a sense they have to protect you.

"We know that there are not all flying fish boats so don't let us deny or don't let us pretend. We know that there are also some enemy boats that behave like if they are flying fish boats and we know there are some boats that sometimes threaten the lives of fishermen.

"What we need to ensure is that we develop a relationship that we can protect the fishing boats when they are out fishing, from those boats that sometimes leave to catch fish and end up doing other things."

He added there was also the need to protect the boats from those who sometimes threatened fishermen to do things they should not be doing.

Kellman called for "all the security features" to be put in place to ensure that "whatever is going on, on the sea" could be viewed from a particular location.

He urged the fisherfolk to keep away from those people who behaved badly, and said that they had to start protecting themselves. However, he did not elaborate.

This was the third meeting in a series with Kellman and the fisherfolk to give an update on fishing agreement talks between Barbados and Trinidad as well as to hear their views and concerns.

The CARICOM Ambassador described the lively meeting as the "best one" to date. (DS)