00:00In 2022, we would have earned about $1,100,000.
00:06In the second year, 2023, we would have earned just about $1.3 million.
00:12And last year, we would have just closed off with about $1.1 million.
00:16So we are quite happy where the vessel is.
00:20TT or US?
00:21TT.
00:22TT dollars.
00:23Yes, I'm quite happy where the vessel is.
00:24I'm quite happy with the crew in terms of what they have been producing.
00:27Some of the cash generated is channeled to the school feeding program in Tobago.
00:32Refurbishment works at Tadco Shore Park.
00:35And on Friday, free tuna soup and a tour of the vessel were offered to members of the
00:41public.
00:42So what we do, the vessel goes into international waters, which is 200 nautical miles away from
00:46the nearest land.
00:49Our target species is yellowfin tuna, but over the time, we would have caught things
00:52like shark, dolphin, kingfish, ocean god.
00:57These things were definitely put into use in terms of the Tobago space, in terms of
01:01the school feeding program, persons who want to do things like the smoke fishing, which
01:05we offer at the compound.
01:07But an average is about 60,000 to 65,000 pounds per year.
01:11Captain Llewellyn Ellis is encouraging fisherfolk to take their skills further.
01:17Trained in Japan under the fishing technology program, he also worked at the Caribbean Fisheries
01:23Trinidad Development Institute for 17 years as a fishing technology instructor.
01:29Was it always your dream to be a fisherman?
01:32Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:33Yeah, well, actually, I used to run away from school and go fishing.
01:36I even went adrift from Buku in 1990, a lone fisherman.
01:42Yeah, I went adrift by myself for three days, and then Pete Tanker picked me up.
01:48And then my mom say, stop fishing now, boy.
01:51So she got a government job for me.
01:53But it was still fishing.
01:54Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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