ATFA Calls For High-level Meeting With Prime Minister On Illegal Fishing

May 15, 2025 – Tensions are rising in Tobago’s fishing community. Curtis Douglas, President of the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association (ATFA), is urgently calling for a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to end what he describes as decades of illegal fishing in Tobago’s waters. This follows continued calls on the powers that be to safeguard Tobago’s food security in April 2023 and past diplomatic efforts in November 2023 between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados—Douglas says foreign vessels, mainly from Venezuela and Barbados, continue to overfish flying fish stocks in Tobago’s territory. Douglas says these illegal operators are using powerful fishing lights to lure and deplete fish populations, leaving local fishermen with shrinking catches and threatening Tobago’s food security. He’s proposing that any foreign nation fishing in Tobago’s waters must first obtain a licence, suggesting a baseline fee of US$3,000 for access. He believes now is the time for real change under Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar’s leadership, urging the new government to prioritise protecting Tobago’s marine resources before it’s too late.