A fisherman shares his journey, challenges and changes

THE village of Strathspey is colourful and complex in many ways, and the lives and jobs of its residents are no exception. Located just outside the capital city, Strathspey offers work options in various areas and sectors, with entrepreneurship growing. However, some residents still prefer more traditional jobs. Narine Sookram has been a fisherman since he graduated from high school. Now, more than 20 years later, he says he still loves being at sea.

Narine, the son of a fisherman, was born and raised in Strathspey. Following in his father’s footsteps, Narine has been to sea countless times and now has a family of his own as a father to three boys. The vibrant 51-year-old says he still loves his job regardless of its challenges. As he shared, “I have been doing fishing work since I was a little boy. My father was a fisherman, and I wanted to be like him. I would say I have been a fisherman for well over twenty-something years, and I like the work.”

Throughout the years, Narine has worked at various communities along the East Coast of Demerara. During this time, he says he has seen his profession’s best and worst aspects. “The first place I worked was Meadow Bank, and then to Eccles and a few other places. After that, I stopped going out to sea for a while. I started working in the swamps. I used to catch shrimps and mullets.”

Although he was never formally trained, Narine has worked in almost every area of aquaculture. He explained that his love for sea creatures has helped him hold on to his job. The work is far more technical and complicated than most people would expect. Going out to either sea or just to the swamps requires Narine to understand both the animals and their habitat.

He explained that fishing for certain species must be done at particular times in specific parts of the sea. “Fishing work is nice; as a fisherman, all you have to do is understand. When we go out to sea, we have to pay attention to the tide and the time of day. We have to know where to go,” he stated.

Narine admits that fishing and other areas of aquaculture are physically challenging and tend to impact his body. However, he says jobs like his and agriculture all offer something unique: independence. As he explained, “One of the best things about the work that I do is that nobody has to tell me anything. Going out to sea, it’s just you and your crew; there is no boss or anything. Whatever you catch is your own.”

Sharing some of his experiences at sea, Narine explained that there is an interesting type of camaraderie among his fellow crewmates. “When we go out, it is just us. We cook and work and look out for one another. We go so far out to sea that we do not see anybody. We do not see any land; maybe sometimes we may see a ship passing or another fishing boat. We say hi to each other, and we continue.”

Looking back at the community’s changes over the years, Narine shared that some of the changes have impacted the fish in the region. Pollution is a problem worldwide; as we produce more, more is left to dispose of. Narine explained that the growing presence of materials like plastic seems to chase the fish away.

As he explained, “I remember long ago, the canals, trenches, and the sea did not look like how they look today. At that time, people did not throw anything in the water. We used to swim in the canal, and the water was clear. Now we have garbage and all these things bothering the fish.” However, this has not been enough reason for Narine to stop the fishing business. Instead, he has expanded into new territory.

Every year, hundreds of pounds of wild meat are sold in Guyana. In many cases, this is done illegally and by unlicensed persons, often leading to animals being killed in and out of season. This is something Narine disagrees with. Receiving his licence a few months ago, Narine is now working towards distributing legal, safe wild meat. He hopes to open a business that people can trust, as he shared, “I started the wild meat business a while ago. I got my licence a few months ago, and I want to do things the right way.”

Narine says he wants to continue in both businesses depending on availability. He says regardless of what he does, he will be doing it to the best of his ability, as a ‘hard-working man’ by nature.