Navigation lights and anchoring buoys have been handed over for use by fishermen and other boatmen at Island Harbour to promote safety at sea through the channels there.
The handing over ceremony was held on March 1, under the auspices of the Department of Disaster Management in conjunction with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). The equipment was funded under the ACP/EU project.
Alwyn Richardson, of the Department of Disaster Preparedness, said in his welcome remarks that the equipment would assist fishermen and other boat operators to safely navigate their vessels through the Island Harbour Bay channels. He stated that the project, implemented by CDEMA in 2010, was “aimed at reducing the human safety, social, economic and environmental costs of natural disasters, and building more resilient communities in the CDEMA participating states.”
Director of Disaster Management, Melissa Meade, said that enhancing community resilience after a disaster was a priority of her organisation as well as others in the region. “That’s why the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, along with the European Union, joined together to fund a project such as this,” she explained. “It is a project in which we seek to enhance the ability of the communities to respond to incidences. The Island Harbour Community was chosen as one of the pilot communities to benefit from this specific project.”
Elected Representative, Othlyn Vanterpool, thanked the Department of Disaster Management and CDEMA for including the East End/Island Harbour community in the important project. “We deem it a pleasure for us, in Island Harbour, to be part of this bigger project,” he said, noting that island Harbour was a low coastal area where safety was always a concern.
Rawle Hazel, speaking on behalf of the Maritime Administration in Anguilla, said his Department was primarily focused on safety at sea. “Over the last few years, it has focused mainly on getting our ferry, cargo and charter vessels up to standard and compliant with all international and regional conventions and standards,” he explained. He said that in the coming months his Department would be working closely with the Department of Fisheries, and the fishing community, to develop a minimum set of safety standards in Anguilla.
Minister of Fisheries, Walcott Richardson, thanked CDEMA on behalf of the Government of Anguilla, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, for its timely assistance to Anguilla, particularly the Island Harbour community, by providing the navigational lights and buoys.
CDEMA’s Community Disaster Planning Specialist, Velda Octave-Joseph, said it was a proud moment for CDEMA and the ACP/EU team. “It is one of the tangible outcomes of a strategic partnership between CDEMA, the European Union, the Department of Disaster Management and the Island Harbour community,” she said. “This is the first community that we are actually handing over equipment under the project. It is our hope and belief that this intervention will contribute to the safety of fishermen in the Island Harbour community.”
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Samuel Webster, Adviser in the Ministry of Fisheries and member of the Island Harbour community.
The navigation lights amount to US$132.00, while the cost the anchoring buoys is US$578.00.
