ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

The zinc and board living quarters of the fishers at Pedro Cay are fairly clean, there are hardly any flies or mosquitoes, and the air smells crisp.

However, north of the cays is quite the opposite, and there is an extremely huge pile-up of garbage. The odour of human faeces cannot be ignored, but this, the fishers say, is their daily reality.

"We nuh have no proper sanitary conditions over here. So there is a spot that is designated for that. Sometimes yuh look all a dozen man and woman over deh a s**t. Nobody don't business with anybody. When we a see period, a over deh we go to," a woman said. Minutes later, THE WEEKEND STAR observed a woman walking over to the 'open toilet' with a pack of sanitary wipes in her hand. She shamelessly pulled down her underwear and released her waste before returning to her dwelling.

CEO of the National Fisheries Authority (NFA), Dr Gavin Bellamy, said he is aware of the pile-up of waste and said the agency has relentlessly removed the garbage from the cays.

"The trash is what they have generated themselves, and structures were built for them to place the recyclable waste. Those are stationed to the left of the Coast Guard base. We have recommended and encouraged persons there to separate the waste, so that we can facilitate the movement of it. We must also remember that we all have our responsibilities to ourselves and the environment. We, the NFA, coast guards, NSWMA and other agencies have moved tons of garbage from Pedro Cays on multiple occasions," Bellamy said.

"We have partnered with companies that have given us some large ton bags and we have gone out to Pedro Cays and filled hundreds of them with waste and we have used the Port Authority or JDF vessel. We do it as frequently as humanly possible with the available large vessels to assist us. There is a sizable amount of waste which is generated by the fishers themselves, but we will continue to do work to alleviate the waste out there," Bellamy added. He stated that it sometimes takes a number of small boats to shuttle the waste to the larger vessels which are unable to dock on the cays. Fishers and small business operators on Pedro Cays depend on the Coast Guard for water, and the commodity is almost considered 'gold'.

"The soldier dem carry water for we but more time when a man don't have any, him have to buy a bucket to bathe for all $500. If yuh want it to drink, you spend double the price for a bottle weh yuh would a buy a land. Other than that, a God-given rain we depend on. We pay tax, so we should have running water out here," one resident said.

According to Bellamy, sometimes as much as 300 persons may occupy the space, but he reminded fishers that the island was never intended for persons to live there.

"It is there for persons who go on a fishing expedition and need somewhere temporary to stay. Pedro Cays is not and should not be a residential community. It is the obligation of people to bring their own potable water which is sufficient for their use," he said.