Brava: Community of Lomba Tantum demands measures against “clandestine” fishing and speedy repair of the cable car

Speaking to Inforpress, fisherman Marcelino da Lomba said that in the locality people depend mainly on fishing and the cable car has been suffering several interruptions due to breakdowns, which has caused inconvenience to fishermen and fishmongers, as its breakdown has jeopardized the work of many people.

“It is a cable car that had a good principle and the capacity to transport up to 100 kilos or more of fish. During the year 2015 until now, they have completed eight years, almost nine years and currently the machine is in a crisis that is unable to transport even 20 kilos of fish”, he informed.

In this sense, he questioned where the money that the machine has raised over all these years is, which, according to him, not even the maintenance those responsible have been doing, taking into account that the cable car is already “very damaged”.

“We want to ask the people or those responsible who are in charge of this cable car to bring a new machine, since the one we have here is not able to transport almost anything”, he appealed.

Marcelino da Lomba also highlighted that women/wives, due to their advanced age, are currently unable to carry fish on their heads, from Tantum to Lomba, which is why he called for the intervention of the competent authorities to resolve this problem as quickly as possible.

Fisherman Reinaldo Meirelles is “concerned and dissatisfied” with the “clandestine” fishing boats, coming from other islands that have been fishing in this fishing area, stating that it is not fair, since there are around 40 boats in the community. everyone has a license and, however, “clandestine” fishermen arrive and fish “illegally” in their surroundings.

“This cannot be, since we have no possibility of going fishing further away, except in our surroundings, as this is where we seek our daily sustenance. In this case, I think that these illegal fishermen have priority to go further and that is why we think they should not place nets here in our waters, because otherwise they are causing hunger in our homes”, he stressed.

As he acknowledged, the sea belongs to everyone, but he stated that there are rules or laws that prohibit fishing in a certain maritime territory without authorization.

“These fishermen could fish normally, but they are throwing nets at the central bank and are catching all the fish and we are left with nothing”, he highlighted, calling for the competent authorities to intervene as soon as possible.

For his part, the president of the Cooperative of Shipowners, Fishermen and Fishmongers (CoopUnipesca) of Lomba Tantum, Anildo Baptista pleaded with the Government to pay more attention to this situation and give a positive response to fishermen.

“We believe that if the Government gives a positive response about the cable car, the cooperative will be available to make this commitment both to the fishermen and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, including the city council. I believe we have all the capacity to help solve some problems that are facing management, organization and the trust of fishermen and fishmongers”, he guaranteed.

In relation to the “clandestine” boats that have been affecting the community, this official assured that he had already held a meeting with the coast guard commander and he gave all the confidence that they would patrol the area, but so far nothing.

“There have already been three or four reports of illegal boats that have been fishing in our seas, but so far no action has been taken and, therefore, fishermen are quite indignant and dissatisfied, demanding intervention from the authorities”, he concluded.