Retired fisherman storms out of fisheries meeting after told to 'shut up'
He was making a plug for the Fisheries Advisory Committee to be represented by the small cultural fisherman as well as the large fish and lobster harvesters.
It was at the General Assembly of Virgin Islands Fishermen in the Fishlock Hall of the JR O’Neal Botanic Gardens that Gray made the comments, saying that whether one is a fisherman or not, one must make sure that the small cultural fisherman always has a place in the cultural mosaic of the country.
“These are the cultural fishermen...you have all seen him with his little boat and outboard engine going out there doing a little hardnose fishing, doing a little yellow tail fishing. That is [part of] our cultural heritage in this country. Those guys have been neighbourhood fishermen for generations and they need to be well represented and taken care of on this board to make sure that we never lose sight of that specific [category] of fishermen and that nobody does anything to disrupt their cultural heritage and their ability to fish that way,” he said.
“They are not harming anybody...they are not doing big mechanised fishing...they are living in a different world.They have their little fishing industry and they have their neighbourhood customers and that’s the way they are and we should all respect them and ensure that they have as much a place on that board as the big offshore guy or the big lobster guy,” he said.
Adjustments to system needed
Gray believes the industry has come to a point that Government needs to make some adjustments to the system.
“Stuff has to go to Cabinet and stuff has to go to the House of Assembly. But it can’t go without a Fisheries Advisory Committee,” he said. “[Those issues] have to by law go through the Committee and that Committee sits parallel to the Minister,” he said.
Noting that there are seven seats on the Fisheries Advisory Committee Board, Gray said the Chief Fisheries Officer is mandated to be on the Board. He said included also is a science officer, a deep water fisherman, a person from the trap fishing industry, a person representing the Chamber of Commerce and a person representing cultural fishing.
“If this Board is put together properly today, the fishing industry as you know it will now be elevated to its correct position in the Government and be in charge of assisting the country in developing its fishing programmes,” he said.
He pleaded with the industry players that if they wanted anything in the sector to move forward then they must commit to forming the committee.
Gray was abruptly asked by one of the organisors of the meeting to stop speaking before he got to the end of his presentation and stormed out of Fishlock Hall as a result, saying “they are telling me to shut up.”
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24 Responses to “Retired fisherman storms out of fisheries meeting after told to 'shut up'”
en when others have the best interest of the country at heart. There are a lot of Black skin "Uncle Tom" who preaches preservation of Natures Little Secret but secretly are sell out!! He He HE Natures Little Secret
K>>>> will listen to him only because of his skin colour.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a historian/ preservationist, rep from CFD, rep from TCPD on the planning authority other than connected business members and architects? Town and Country and Fisheries are often ignored when approving inappropriate projects. How fair and wise is that? ALL interested and affected parties should be represented when it comes to policies that affect everyone. Those who told Kevin to shut up are blind to the valid points he was making. Shame on YOU. What makes BVI BVI?