Tobago Correspondent
Lambeau fisherfolk have accused Chief Secretary Farley Augustine of “breach of contract” as more than two years after the devastating February 7, 2024 oil spill, they are yet to be compensated.
On Thursday, Augustine said any further compensation will fall on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), as the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) is not recognising the claims by some fisherfolk.
Approximately 15 kilometres of Tobago’s southern coastline was stained by 50,000 barrels of oil after the Gulfstream vessel overturned near Cove in Tobago.
Over 160 claims for compensation were submitted to the Oil Spill Relief Committee, which was headed by Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) director Allan Stewart. Eighty per cent of submissions were rejected due to exaggerated claims, unverifiable evidence and ineligibility.
Augustine claimed those still seeking compensation were “a handful” of people who “are not necessarily fishermen or boat owners.”
He said, “The group with fishermen and boat owners all received their payment through ITOPF. Those (seeking compensation) are the people who work for boat owners and people with registered craft. While the owners of the boat received compensation, they did not, and ITOPF is not going to give them any compensation.”
He said the THA will have to make a special effort to render assistance for earnings lost because of the oil spill.
But fish processor Allister McLetchie, representing a group of 16 fisherfolk, has accused Augustine of repeatedly breaking his promises.
“That decision is what I call betrayal and a breach of contract,” he said.
“Fisherfolk is not only boat owners. Fisherfolk is anyone dealing with resources from the sea. Whether you’re a vendor, a person supplying the ice, or working on the boat — you are a fisherfolk.”
McLetchie said the THA’s payment of a one-off grant to affected fisherfolk in May 2024 was evidence of the validity of their claim.
“Vendors got the $1,000 food grant, everyone surrounding the fishing industry got the $1,000 food grant, and that, to me, was our pre-qualification approving us to be compensated.”
He noted recipients had to submit documents to prove they were a stakeholder and sign to receive the grant.
“We have a contract with the THA, and that contract has been breached several times.
“He gave us several deadlines. He stand up on a platform in Lambeau and said he would have paid before the year ended — that has been breached.
“He responded to our press conference and said he would pay us in two weeks — that is another breach.”
McLetchie said he was honest in his claim that he was no longer an active fisherman, but had transitioned into his registered fish processing business.
He recalled Augustine promised that all registered businesses in the fishing industry would be compensated.
“Up to this date, I have not seen a single cent for my fish business, Project 5.”
He noted Lambeau was “ground zero” during the oil spill, as fishermen and even residents had their lives uprooted.
“All now it affecting us. A lot of people who used to buy fish out of Lambeau have stopped purchasing because of the fear that fish is contaminated by oil. I loss a lot of customers because they refuse to eat fish from a Lambeau fisherman or vendor. That will stick with them for life.”
