Since the commencement of the FMC’s restructure back in 2018, fishermen’s cooperatives let their gripes be known to the then administration. But their pleas fell on deaf ears. Five years later, according to them, their concerns still have not been addressed.

“The reality is the real victims here are the fishers, fish retailers, and the wholesalers, who - for a few weeks now - it has become very difficult for them to obtain ice so that they can preserve their catch, or their purchase,” Goodwill Fishermen’s Cooperative Operations Manager, Kaygianna Toussaint-Charlery told SNO. According to Toussaint-Charley, the ice machine in Vieux Fort, operated by Blue Ocean Sea Food Inc. is non-operational. “The truth is they have been left to suffer so often, as it relates to this place. Whether it is under the name Fish Marketing Corporation or Blue Ocean Sea Food Inc., the fishing sector is the one left to hold the bitter end of the stick.”

 Back in July 2018, then-Agriculture Minister Ezechiel Joseph made the revelation that the FMC would be operated by a private entity. A promise was made to fishermen that they “will be engaged before the process is finalised, to provide the right solutions to their needs as beneficiaries” and that “[the government is] discussing and exploring options that will provide insurance to our fisher folk.” By 2019, the process of privatization was completed. Cabinet approved a 15-year lease agreement with Blue Ocean for $10,000.00 a month. “I’m getting the vibes that fishermen are expressing satisfaction,” Ezechiel Joseph had said.

 At present, Kaygianna Toussaint-Charlery says a multi-sectoral approach is needed to address the crux of issues fishermen currently face.

“As had started a few years ago, I think there is a need, again, to go back to the drawing table for greater stakeholder consultation on the matter of this entity and the way forward for it,” she suggests. She says stakeholder conversations were started a few years ago, but nothing conclusive came out of it. “At this point, we have seen the results of that privatization. It has not been efficient. It has really not solved what would have been considered the age-old issues. There is a need for us to revisit some of these discussions. The stakeholder consultation was wide.”

The Pierre-led administration in recent times has provided registered fisherfolk with a $1 per gallon rebate and has also entered into discussions with the operators of Blue Ocean. Investigations have revealed that no lease agreement had ever been signed between the operator and the Chastanet-led administration and commitments were never honoured by the government. In 2021, the electricity at the facility was disconnected and the facility closed. The government has indicated that it is in the process of developing a lease for the re-establishment of the facility to serve the fisherfolk of Saint Lucia.