Fishers puzzled by latest sea rescue as veteran calls for stronger safety rules

Q uestions are swirling among the fishing community after two men described in official reports as Barbadian fishermen were rescued aboard a drifting vessel near Venezuelan waters. The development, which stands in sharp contrast to the loss at sea of two fishermen earlier this year, has prompted the veteran to call for stronger safety rules, including mandatory life rafts. Jason Alexander Harewood and Lionel DaCosta Barnes were recently rescued at sea aboard a drifting vessel named the Twin Fin near Venezuelan waters, before being transported to Jamaica. Everton Brathwaite, a 54-year fishing veteran, said fishers he spoke with remain stumped by their identities. “I ain’t know that boat and I ain’t even know the men,” Brathwaite said. “I never see or hear the name call yet.

I asked a lot of people who these men are, and nobody can tell me who they really were, so I don’t know where exactly they fish from. ” Other fishers approached by Barbados TODAY could not vouch for the men’s identities. Police were then contacted, but they too could shed no more light on the men. The bizarre incident stands in stark contrast to an offshore tragedy in which two fishermen were lost at sea without a trace in rough waters. For Brathwaite, these contrasting cases demonstrate how critical modern technology and tracking systems have become for survival on the open water. “Lost in a boat now out to sea is very rare. On a scale from one to ten, it is a nine [for safety],” Brathwaite explained, noting that satellite technology has fundamentally changed marine safety compared to decades past. “You will find that fishermen used to get lost before, but they won’t get lost now because there’s so much technology there. Fellas got big radios, they got VHF…. Now it has improved. They got Starlink…