WATCH | Old Harbour Bay fishermen stuck in Columbia

More than 40 fishermen, the majority from Old Harbour Bay, have been detained by the Columbian authorities for allegedly fishing illegally inside its maritime waters.

In a video sent to Old Harbour News and which has since been shared on social media, the men claimed that they have been in detention in the South American nation without charge.

They further claimed that they have been stuck in Columbia for more than month in conditions not suitable for human habitation.

When contacted by Old Harbour News this morning, a representative in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade could not provide any details on the matter. However, we were promised that Ariel Bowen, who is the ministry’s director of the

Consular Department, will contact us as soon as she returns to the office.

Old Harbour News has received confirmation of the situation from the police as well as residents in the community.

An update was subsequently provided by Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith during her presentation of the State of the Nation Debate this afternoon.

Speaking in the Senate, Minister Johnson-Smith stated that 34 Jamaicans and eight non-nationals who have family ties with some of the Jamaicans, are presently being held in San Andres, Columbia and were “believed to be fishing illegally”.

“Without saying too much at this point in time,” she said. “I will… just to say that we have engaged with the owners of the vessels and we are working with our embassy and our Columbian partners to process the crew for repatriation to Jamaica.”

The minister said that the government is “hopeful of a positive result” but anticipates that the process to repatriate the 42-man crew will be prolonged due to amendments to international maritime laws.

She used to opportunity to appeal to boat owners and captains to familiarize themselves with existing legislation and take the necessary steps to comply with the new rules governing ocean fishing.

Johnson-Smith said: “Illegal fishing is a major international issue; vessels are seized, [and] that's part of a judicial process. The crew is liable to be imprisoned, again a judicial process; they're not political processes in which governments can engage on friendship. When a decision is taken to commence a process, it becomes very difficult.

“I want to call on our boat owners and operators and the captions of these vessels to fish responsibly in our waters.

“I also want to impress on boat owners the importance of insurance. Not only for damage but for loss and seizure; and more importantly, for the care and protection of their crews. It is not responsible to send people's children out on the high seas without consideration of the risk and the protection needed and to simply, when they fall on distress say ‘the government must’. You have a responsibility too as well, and I want to call on them to be more thoughtful in this regard.

“From the government's perceptive, we will be working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to establish a policy on treating these matters because although we hope they will not multiply we do believe that we're in circumstances where we can no longer treat them in an ad hoc manner. We need a full policy to treat with such matters going forward.”

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.