Charlestown, Nevis, May 1, 2019 (DBSKN) — Indian Castle Bay, Hanley’s Road, in Nevis will on Labour Monday (May 6) be a beehive of activities with the hosting of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis-sponsored Sixth Annual Indian Castle Fisher Folks Association’s Fishing Competition.
Following the disappointment experienced last year during the fifth edition of the popular fishing competition when boats did not go out to sea due to inclement weather and rough sea conditions, President of the Indian Castle Fisher Folks Association Mr Stephen Moore is upbeat that the weather will this year accommodate the competition.
“It is an open tournament – we encourage fishers from all over Nevis, not just Indian Castle and are hoping to attract fishers from St. Kitts as well,” said Mr Moore. “We are doing some promotion in St. Kitts as we are hoping to get fishers from St. Kitts to participate in the tournament. We have never had any participation from St. Kitts – we are hoping this will be the first. We have fliers advertising the event out there.”
Mr Moore made the remarks on Monday April 29 when he received sponsorship cheque from Ms Hazeldine Lewis, Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Delinquent Management Officer at the Nevis branch office in Ward Building, Island Main Road, Stoney Grove in Charlestown.
“We want to thank the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis for trusting in our tournament and seeing that it has value to the point that they can be our biggest sponsor this year,” said Mr Moore. “So we want to thank the bank for aligning their vision with our vision that fishing is an important part of the fabric of the nation.”
In conclusion after receiving the sponsorship cheque, Mr Moore said: “Development Bank is a contributor, promoter, and facilitator to food security and I hasten to say that the Development Bank is part of food security because most of our fishermen would come to Development Bank (for loans) to buy engines, and to buy boats.”
In response Ms Lewis thanked the Indian Castle Fisher Folks Association for promoting the industry by way of bringing other fishers to take part in a competition that goes out to assure the general public that there are people who are concerned about food security in the country.
“We at the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis congratulate the Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for the interest it has shown in the country’s fishing industry,” said Ms Lewis. “The bank partnered with the Federal Government to distribute grant funds to fishers who had been negatively impacted by the two category five hurricanes, Irma and Maria, which ravaged the country in September 2017. Some of the beneficiaries are members of the Indian Castle Fisher Folks Association.”
Fishers taking part in the competition will go out to sea at 5:00 am and will be expected to be back by 4:00 pm. Any boat returning after 4:15 pm will be penalised, while any boat returning after 4:30 pm will be disqualified. According to Mr Moore, each boat is allowed to register four anglers, but only three will be on the boat at any given time. The extra angler will only be needed if one of the three on the boat retires for any reason.
“The winner of the tournament is determined by the most fish caught, and that is the ultimate winner,” said the President of the Indian Castle Fisher Folks Association. “It is a fishing tournament – we want to know how you turn a bite into a catch, and that determines the winner. For the first prize which is the most catch, the winner will take home $1,500. Then $1,000 and then we have $750 for the third prize.”
Land based activities which attract hundreds of fans will start at 10:00 am and will go on until 10:00 pm. There will be three bingo games the first game paying $500, the second game $750, and the final game $3,000. Calling on more persons to come out and witness the event, Mr Moore said that dollar tickets will be sold during the day that will allow people to win small prizes on the hour.
