Interviewing Randy Quintero
TriniView.com Reporters
Event Date: June 30, 2007
Posted: July 12, 2007
Randy Quintero, also known as 'Santa', is an experienced fishermen of the Carenage fishing community. Born in Carenage into a fishing family, he is a notable and respected man in the village and though young, has a great deal of information about his trade. Mr. Quintero is the Public Relations Officer of the Carenage Fishermen's Association and is also employed at the Chaguaramas Development Authority. On the eve of St. Peter's Day, he shared with Triniview.com some of his experiences and concerns about the Carenage fishing community.
TRINIVIEW.COM: How did you get involved in the fishing trade?
RANDY: I was born into the trade. Back in 1963 when I was born, my father had a boat. I have been around fishing since I was a little boy and I have never been out of it. I was born and practically grew up in our home under the almond tree just about a one hundred feet away from the seashore on Carenage fishing. We do not live there anymore because the government came and moved us. We organized a place not far from here and that is where I am living right now. I am now an experienced fisherman and I have my own boat.
TRINIVIEW.COM: In terms of work, what else do you do apart from fishing?
RANDY: I am presently employed at the Chaguaramas Development Authority. I started working there since 1996. I have to say though, that I have never forgotten where I came from and I have never damned the bridges that I have crossed over the years. I wouldn't forget the sea.
TRINIVIEW.COM: How often do you go out to fish?
RANDY: I try to go out on a weekend to fish. Fishing is a seasonal thing. I have to wait until the fish start to come in. The fish come in from around April and continue into the months of May, June, July and so on. Around this time of the year, with the celebration of the birth of St. Peter, the fishermen are fishing whole night. We can still catch plenty of fish after the month of July and then the fish will start slowing down. Certain times of the year you would catch plenty more fish than other times. You have to know the season for them.
TRINIVIEW.COM: How many fishermen operate out of the Carenage Fishing Centre?
RANDY: Right now, we have about thirty to forty fishermen active with boats on the water.
TRINIVIEW.COM: What are the days you all have market?
RANDY: The industrial market is opened everyday for fishing. It is only on a public holiday the Port of Spain General Market doesn't open. The smaller vendors who buy fish will come with their van and purchase the fish from the fishermen. The vendors will buy the fish on any given day that the fishermen will bring it in for them. The vendors always keep that togetherness with the fishermen. They depend on the fishermen to bring the fish so that they could earn a dollar. The fishermen also depend on the vendors to buy the fish so that they too can earn a dollar. It works hand in hand.
We have an active market to the front of the Carenage Fishing Centre closer to the Western Main Road. This market is maintained by Diego Martin Corporative. They send out cleaners to maintain the market for the vendors to sell their fish. Fellas like Perry, myself and one or two other boat men sell fish from inside this market.
TRINIVIEW.COM: What are the fish prices like these days?
RANDY: Fish prices have remained standing up for the longest while in Trinidad. This is the first time in many years I have seen the fish prices stand up at that rate. Just like how the gas and everything else stand up at a certain price and they are not coming down, it is the same thing with the fish prices. I figure it is because of the demand for the fish. We were not catching plenty of fish so we kept the price at a certain standard. I do not know if later down in the year the fish will start to hold plentiful. If it does, then the price might decrease or it could remain at the same standard.
I have been in Tobago selling fish and the price has stood up right through. It didn't vary to say it will drop back down in a quantity. Even if you hold it in a quantity you will still get a good price for it. But in Trinidad here, there is a technique: when you hold a certain amount of fish, the vendors drop the price on you. They always remain at a standard where they have a chance of making on you all the time. They will pay you a certain amount for the fish and sell it back at their own price. They always have a chance of making on you. It is only when the fish price is nice, you who are doing the actual fishing outside there will feel the sweetness and reap the benefit of it too. But that only happens for a time.
TRINIVIEW.COM: As a fishing community, what specific concerns do you all have?
RANDY: As a founder of the community here and a member of the fishing association, I would like to see further development of the Carenage Fishing Centre and many other young fishermen continue the trade. It would be a good thing if the fishing industry develops in such a way that would allow many of the youths to get a chance to see what it is like to be out there, and how they can learn about and carry on the trade. We would like to see the government put certain things into place that will not only benefit us today, but also the generation coming behind.
Once the facilities are upgraded, things could get better for the fishermen. For instance, a gas station on the jetty so that we can get gas from right here on the compound. We would also like to see the water and electricity upgraded. We have a big compound here but it is only now starting to develop. This jetty fell down about twenty years ago and it is only now in 2007, it has reached to this length. They started building it about a year ago and this is what we have gotten so far. Even though we are thankful for it, we would still like to see many more things done to the compound so that we can move forward. More boats, vendors and visitors will come if we had the right set of facilities. We do not want to see the industry go down to waste.
We have already seen what the crime situation is like in the country. If plenty younger people learn how to make a dollar outside there, it will be better for all of us. More food will come to feed the nation here. Things are not like they were long ago. Now tempers fly and the next thing you know is somebody getting killed and so on. The whole world is speeding at a rapid pace. The most we could try and do is to see how best we could slow things down. We could help elevate the youths today by finding things for them to do that would keep their minds and their time occupied. There are too many youths on the streets doing nothing and getting themselves into trouble with the law.
With better facilities on the compound, they can bring more boats in the area and many people will get work. A lot of people can come into the fishing industry. This part of the peninsular is waterfront from Chaguaramas come right up to Port of Spain. Carenage is the first village after Chaguaramas. Everything coming in has to pass right here. We would really like to see better things happening not only within the Carenage community, but also in communities outside of Carenage. People would be able to have their boats right here in the centre.
TRINIVIEW.COM: Not many people would be familiar with the fishing experience. What is it like?
RANDY: It is something you have to really get into. You don't necessarily have to be young to get into it. You can also get into it at an old age. But the younger you are, is the more you would get to know about it. Fishing is a technique you have to learn. Fish traps do not work by themselves. You can be a great fisherman if you learn how to use the traps to catch the fish and also know and understand the coordination of the tide and the moon. Those are very important things you learn when you start to do the trade. I would like to see the younger people learn and understand the trade. We would not only have more fishermen, but we would also have better fishermen and an abundance of fish.
Today is not like long ago when we used to catch plenty more fish. Today we have to go further out to get the fish and we have to pay more for everything. Engines, gas, everything on the whole have gone sky high. As a shipment of engines comes down, the price on the parts and everything keep going up.
As soon as you start to hold a certain amount of fish, the price drops down. We are still paying the same price for gas. We pay $11.50 a gallon, $25.00 for a quart of oil and $30.00 for a plug. When you go and hold three or four hundred pounds of fish, the fish price goes down next to nothing.
Every day is fishing but not every day is catching. Sometimes you have to put out a certain amount of money to go the distance and you are not sure to make back the money.
TRINIVIEW.COM: How would you compare fishing now to long ago?
RANDY: Long ago we used to catch a lot more fish. The areas that used to hold a large quantity of fish about twenty-five years ago no longer hold that amount today. You have to go further out in the sea into areas that haven't been affected from the pollution. After a while, the grounds in the sea change because of all the things people dump in the water. That makes it difficult for the fish to find areas where they can migrate and make their young ones. Fishing is a seasonal thing. They will come at a certain time, lay their eggs and go back out.
We, the fishermen, have to know when the fish come in here, so that we can go outside and start to fish. Certain times every year, we will do fillet, banking, trolling and so on. The man who is really depending on fishing, has to swing according to the season and the different types of fishing.
TRINIVIEW.COM: Some fishermen talk about a joy of freedom which they get on the sea. Could you tell us more about that experience?
RANDY: You are independent when you are out there. If you really like this thing, you would want to feel as if you can't fish enough. Once your body is willing to go, you will always want to go and hold fish. It is an enjoyment to hold fish, especially when you set a net in the water and pull up a thousand pound of fish in it. Fishing is really something that has to be in you. Saint Peter was the man for the sea. Not everybody is a fisherman. But the chosen ones who are to be the fishermen enjoy every minute of it.
TRINIVIEW.COM: Saint Peter's Day is a big festival down here. What can you tell us about the festival?
RANDY: When I was born right here in Carenage in 1963, I met Saint Peter's Day Festival as a tradition in the community and it is still going to this day. I am sure I will pass on, and my children will come and pass on, and the tradition will still continue. The most we could try to do is to keep the tradition and the culture alive so that the younger ones could benefit and enjoy the sweetness of it too.
TRINIVIEW.COM: What does the festival mean to the people of this fishing community?
RANDY: This festival comes like a Carnival down here. The 29th June is really the Saint Peter's Day. The first Sunday after June 29th is when all the celebrations by the fish market and on the streets take place. A portion of the main road will be blocked off and the traffic will pass in the back. The whole place will have a lot of people coming to enjoy themselves. We will have fish broth cooking here in the fish center, a bar, music and dancing. Everybody will have a good time.
TRINIVIEW.COM: Is the compound always this active with the children who are here today?
RANDY: There are a lot of activities around here today being the eve of the Saint Peter's Day Festival. These children's fathers are fishermen. The children are around playing or helping their parents who are working on their boats. Some of the fishermen are either painting or cleaning their boats and seeing about the engine. Everybody is preparing for the blessing ceremony on the water tomorrow. The children would be there too because it's really friends and family who would be on board.
TRINIVIEW.COM: Do you have any final words?
RANDY: For those who have never visited our country, I would like them to come and visit this sweet island called Trinidad and Tobago because it is a paradise to be in. I have spoken to many people who came to this country and they told me we have one of the sweetest countries in the world. I know this, because with all the disasters that happen outside there, we come like we are in the hands of the Lord. Our Carnival activities are nice and I would like people to visit our country to see what it is like. We have certain resources in the country, even though the public might not be getting their share of the wealth of the land. Whatever that is trickling down for us, we still try to enjoy it. We catch plenty fish here and we are trying to see how best we can carry it on. Anybody who is willing to come and visit our land is welcome.
TRINIVIEW.COM: On behalf of Triniview.com, I would like to thank you for sharing with us.
RANDY: You are welcome.
The Eve of St. Peter's Day 2007 in pictures:
www.triniview.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=186402
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