Anxiety as White House worry about missing fishermen

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) says it is yet to locate two missing fishermen since October 29 when its Maritime, Air and Cyber Command units began conducting search and rescue operations.

The fishermen departed Middle Cay in their blue and red vessel destined for the Belmont area in Westmoreland when they ran out of fuel. The JDF was subsequently contacted to provide assistance. The JDF said it deployed both air and maritime assets in search of the fishermen between last week Tuesday and Friday and expanded their search to the south, south-western and western areas of Jamaica.

Cephas Reynolds, a boat captain at the White House fishing village in Westmoreland, who is known for aiding in search and rescue missions for missing fishermen, said the two men are not known to him or other fisherfolk in the area. He revealed that he received a distress call and went out to their last location where they reportedly ran out of petrol, but they were nowhere to be found.

"I went out four days ago to search for them but when I reached their location they had drifted further," he said.

The JDF said it has requested further assistance from the Cayman Islands Coast Guard and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in locating the vessel.

Fishermen are also tensely waiting to discover if their fish pots withstood the impact of Tropical Storm Rafael. They told THE WEEKEND STAR that since the storm's passage on Tuesday, they have not been able to assess the condition of their pots, leaving their livelihoods hanging in the balance.

"I lost about six of the 10 fish pots that I had inside the reef. They were washed away by the storm," said Michael McDaniels, a fisherman of 30 years. "The majority of my fishing pots are now in the Blossom Banks area where I do my large scale fishing. There I have another 15 pots." Venturing out to retrieve their fish pots immediately after the storm was impossible, but with calmer seas, the fishermen are preparing to head out this weekend to assess the damage and, hopefully, salvage their equipment.

Reynolds stated that while there have not been any reports of damage to fishing vessels and nets, there is uncertainty as Tropical Storm Rafael blew strong winds and dumped several inches of rainfall.

"The community remains cautiously optimistic, gearing up for what could be a critical trek that will determine their immediate future and the sustainability of their fishing activities," Reynolds said.