THE TRADITIONAL CURAÇAOAN FISHING METHODS

This publication was supported by a grant of:
Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied.

Front cover photo by Gerard van Buurt (a Curaçaoan traditional fishing vessel with an oil tanker in the background)
Back cover photo by Dr. Mark Vermeij

Layout: F. Dilrosun and Mehrab Hossain
Printer: VOORDENBAKKER Print Media Communicatie

ISBN: 978-99904-5-338-6
Copyright © 2021 by Faisal F. Dilrosun
Willemstad, Curaçao

All rights reserved.
Without written permission of the author no part of this book may be reproduced, photocopied, nor multiplied by any other means, except as provided by the copyright laws.

About the author

Faisal Farid Dilrosun is a migrant from Surinamese descent, who emigrated as a child with his family from the Netherlands to Curaçao in the late nineteen seventies. Early on he became involved with fishing in Curaçao, first from shore, and not long thereafter from a vessel. In his twenties, he operated larger traditional fishing vessels and over the years, through trial and error, and under the guidance of old master fishermen, gradually started to master Curaçao’s traditional fishing skills. The author later worked as a fisheries officer for many years, which allowed him to further expand his contacts with the Curaçao artisanal fishing community. The author has always worked closely with (local) researchers and contributed to a number of fishery related scientific publications.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The contributions of Mr. Albert Volk were instrumental to write this document. Mr. Volk is a traditional master fisher, highly skilled in traditional fishing, traditional boat building, and beach seine fishing. Mr. Volk became involved in boat building and the fisheries sector at a very early age. Also instrumental were the contributions of the late Mr. Edward Christiaan, an extremely skilled master fisherman, who was always doing his utmost best to effectively transfer his ample knowledge of fishing to anyone interested in mastering traditional fishing techniques. Their contributions warrant a separate statement of thanks, because without them the writing of this manual would not have been possible.

Furthermore, numerous local fishers have contributed to this fishing manual by providing knowledge and pictures. Their contributions are recognized throughout the manual. Secondly, local author and expert on Curaçao’s fishing practices, Mr. Gerard van Buurt (MSc), provided a wealth of information, details and pictures. Mr. van Buurt also provided tips and recommendations on how to improve the manual, and its cultural and scientific significance. Mr. van Buurt also edited the whole document in detail. Lastly, Dr. Mark Vermeij, local expert in tropical marine ecology, examined the whole document in depth, reviewed the text, provided direction, indicated shortcomings and suggested corrections, adaptations and additions to improve the structure and content of this manual.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE

CHAPTER I – CURAÇAO’S TRADITIONAL FISHERY

Description of the fishery

1.1 Fishing grounds

1.2 Fishing seasons

1.3 Trolling for pelagic fish species

1.3.1 Trolling baits

1.3.2 Trolling for wahoo (Pap: Mulá)

1.3.3 Trolling for dorado (Pap: Dradu)

1.4 Bottom fishing

1.5 Chumming and live bait fishing

1.6 Post-harvest

1.7 Fishing vessels

1.8 The fishers

1.9 Licenses and certification

1.10 Economics

CHAPTER II – GEAR

CHAPTER III – TYPES OF BAIT AND LURES

3.1 Trolling baits

3.1.1 Tuna trolling baits

3.1.2 Round scad trolling baits

3.1.3 Flying fish trolling baits

3.1.4 Balao halfbeak trolling baits

3.1.5 Hound fish trolling baits

3.1.6 Sand Tile fish trolling baits

3.2 Lures

3.3 Live bait fishing

3.4 Chum fishing

3.5 Bottom fishing

CHAPTER IV - FISH TRAP FISHERY

CHAPTER V - BEACH SEINE FISHERY FOR BIGEYE SCAD

5.1 The fishery of bigeye scads in Curaçao

5.2 Mass mortality incidences

CHAPTER VI – BANNED FISHING METHODS

6.1 Gill net fishery

6.2 Spear gun fishery

CHAPTER VII - RECENT INNOVATIONS IN THE ARTISANAL FISHERY OF CURAÇAO

7.1 Tanker fishing at night

7.2 Fish Aggregation Devices

CHAPTER VIII - MARKETING

CHAPTER IX - MOST COMMON KNOTS

EPILOGUE - SUSTAINABILITY AND FUTURE PROSPECTIVE OF THE TRADITIONAL FISHERY SECTOR

GLOSSARY

RESÚMEN NA PAPIAMENTU

LITERATURE CITED

ANNEX I - LOCAL TREES USED BY FISHERS

ANNEX II THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURACAOAN FISHING VESSELS OVER TIME

INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE

The fact that the artisanal fishery sector of Curaçao is not in an optimum state compared to even the recent past is the prime motivation to write this document. The number of fishers on Curaçao is declining due to a limited influx of young fishermen despite the very high youth unemployment rate. At the same time, old fishermen that master the old traditional fishing techniques are dying and the art of traditional fishing on Curaçao is often dying with them. The underlying reason most likely lies in the fact that the fishing profession, like that of a farmer, now has a relatively low social status and is considered “for those that have no other options”. In addition, it is a tough job with long, unorthodox working hours, nights at sea, and no guarantees in terms of income.

Artisanal fishing (or “traditional” or “subsistence fishing”) consist of small-scale fishing practices undertaken by (small groups of) individuals using relatively cheap and simple methods in comparison to commercial fishing companies (Garcia, 2009). Data necessary to describe artisanal fisheries and its impact are often scarce or not collected at all (Arocha, 2019). The research and publications on Curaçao’s fishing sector have so far focused on surveys of (e.g., catches and the size of the island’s number of fishers), fishery independent research (e.g., fish community surveys) and (historic) literature studies (e.g., on catch composition through time). None of such surveys and studies focused on the traditional fishing techniques and the fisheries sector in Curaçao itself. This lack of information motivated the author to write this document. Because Curaçaoan fishers have their own professional terminology in the local language Papiamentu (Pap.) this document strives to also capture these specific fishing terms.

The document can be used by people that want to learn about fishing and to evaluate and develop the traditional fishing sector of Curaçao (e.g., in order to introduce (technical) innovations to make certain fishing activities more sustainable or productive). Fishing however represents only one aspect of the traditional fishing skills. Fishers need for example additional skills related to boat engine maintenance and repair, carpentry, boat repair skills and financial skills to manage the income and costs associated with fishing.

What to expect when reading this manual?

First, as a follow-up to the introduction, general information is provided about Curaçao and the fish species that Curaçaoan fishermen often target. Furthermore, a historical overview of the island’s traditional fishery is provided. Finally, the traditional fishery on Curaçao is briefly compared to that on other Caribbean islands. After this general introduction, a general description of the artisanal fishery sector of Curaçao is provided, overviewing fishing grounds, fishing seasons, trolling for pelagic species, bottom fishing, chumming and live bait fishing, post-harvest, fishing vessels, licenses and certifications and economics. The next Chapter (II) provides more detailed descriptions of all gear types traditionally used by Curaçaoan fishers, followed by Chapter III which provides detailed and illustrated descriptions of how trolling baits are prepared from most commonly used baitfish species, which lures and teasers are predominantly used, and how chum fishing, live bait fishing and bottom fishing take place.

Chapter IV provides information and a description of the Curaçao fish trap fishery, and Chapter V describes the fishery of the big eye scads, and the occurrence and potential causes of mass mortality events that frequently affect this species’ fishery. The next chapter (VI) briefly discusses banned fishing methods, such as gill nets and spear guns. Chapter VII describes new fishing methods (tanker fishing at night and the use of fish aggregation devices) that fishers introduced to compensate the decline in catches closer to shore. How fishes are locally sold on Curaçao is described in Chapter VIII and the last Chapter (IX) overviews the most common knots used by traditional fishers.

Description of Curaçao

Curaçao (Pap.: Kòrsou) is an island country in the southern Caribbean Sea comprised of the main island of Curaçao (444 km²) and the much smaller (1.7 km²), uninhabited island Klein Curaçao (“Little Curaçao”). It lies about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela and the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) measures 25,401 km². Curaçao has a population of 158,589 (CBS, 2020) and Willemstad is its capital. Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Curaçao’s Gross Domestic Product was a little over 3 billion US$ in recent years (CBS, 2021). The island’s economy contracted between 2000 and 2018 and its GDP shrank with -0.1 percent on average per year during this period (CBS, 2021). Over the last decade, the average annual income per capita lies around 20,000 US$ and the unemployment rate in that period was around 15%. Youth unemployment in Curaçao is high (32.8% in 2017, an increase of 8% compared to 2010 (van Buiren, 2019). The island is highly dependent on food imports and approximately 13.3 million US$) of fish products were imported in 2015 (CBS, 2017).

Curaçao is situated in the so called Southern Caribbean Dry Zone and is characterized by a semi-arid to arid climate with a distinguishable dry and rainy season and sustained moderate to fresh easterlies year round (MDC, 2020). Trade wind predominantly blow from the East with slight variations to E-NE or E-SE. The mean wind speed is Beaufort 4 (20-28 km/h) with occasional maxima to Beaufort 7 (50-61 km/h). The skies are mostly clear to partly cloudy (MDC, 2020).

The island is characterized by warm tropical temperatures and the highest mean daily temperatures occur in September. The seawater temperature averages around 27°C throughout the year. Seas are rather rough along the north (or windward) side of the island. Here, waves have a mean height of approximately 10 to 12 ft (3 to 3.7 m) with a wavelength of about 100 ft (30 m). The sea along the island’s protected, leeward coast is calmer with maximum wave heights of about 8 ft (2.4 m) and a somewhat shorter wave length compared to the island’s windward coast (van Buurt, 1995). In Curaçao currents are measured by the Curaçao Ports Authority near the harbor entrance located on the leeward side of the island. Current meters are situated at depths of 2 m and 10 m below the surface. The common current direction is in a W-NW direction and the average current speed is 0.5 knots (0.9 km/h) with occasional maxima up to 3.0 knots (5.6 km/h)(van Buurt, 1995).

Curaçao is surrounded by a fringing reef with a total surface of 7.85 km² situated 20 m to 250 m offshore (Vermeij, 2012). These reefs occur along the entire leeward coast, whereas reefs occur sparsely along the island’s windward shore where benthic communities are foremost dominated by Sargassum species, a fleshy, brown macroalga due to the impact of strong wave action. (Waitt Institute, 2017). Along the leeward shore, a general pattern in the composition of the island’s reefs exists. From shore, mostly consisting of steep cliffs and rubble beaches, a submarine terrace gradually slopes to a “drop-off” at 7-12 m depth. This area is locally called the blue edge (Pap. rant di blou) as the color of the water changes from light blue to dark blue (Figure 1) because the reef slopes steeply at 45°-90° towards the open ocean, sometimes interrupted by an inclined terrace at 50-60 m, to a second drop-off at 80-90 m (Vermeij, 2012). Due to the steep angle at which Curaçaoan reefs slope to deep water, pelagic fishes are commonly found relatively close to shore.

Fig 1. The steep “drop-off” at 7-12 m depth, locally called the blue edge (Pap. rant di blou), since the color of the water changes from light blue to dark blue. Photograph by Gerard van Buurt.

Currently there are 13 harbors and landing beaches that are used by Curaçaoan fishers (Kraan, 2016). The traditional fishery takes place from small, mostly locally manufactured wooden vessels. These can be divided into 2 categories. The first category consists of open boats without cabins, usually smaller than 7 meters in length overall (LOA) and equipped with an outboard two stroke gasoline engine (Pap: boto chikí). The second category comprises larger vessels with a LOA between 7 to 12 meters (Pap.: boto grandi) that are equipped with a cabin and an inboard Diesel engine which allow them to venture farther offshore. There are 2 additional smaller, traditional boat types: the “kanoa” a small vessel exclusively used in the seine fishery for big eye scads (Selar crumenophthalmus) and the “yola” (derived from the Dutch word “jol” (Figure 2)) which is a small rowing boat that is used to commute back and forth between shore and ships moored offshore (Figure 3). Yolas are sometimes used for fishing on coral reefs close to shore. Since no statistics are kept, it is currently not known how many (professional) fishermen live on Curaçao, but various sources that closely follow the fishery estimate that between 10-15 boats go out fishing regularly.

Fig. 2. (a) A small open reef boat is towing a yola, a small rowing boat that is used to commute back and forth between shore and ships moored outside. A rowlock (Pap.: chimasaira) may be installed on the gunwale of the yola to facilitate rowing (instead of paddling from the stern of the yola). (b) A vintage traditional rowlock from the collection of fisher Hubert “Ibi” Zimmerman. Photograph (a) by Dr. Haroen Dilrosun and (b) F. Dilrosun.

Fig 3. Landing site St. Michiel with the small open vessels of category 1 at the front and a single larger vessel of boat category 2 in the middle, and an oil tanker in the back. Photograph by F. Dilrosun.

The fishes

The traditional fishery on Curaçao historically focused on reef-associated fishes that occur close to shore and highly migratory species (“pelagics”) that were found in open water not far from the blue edge. The number of known fish species for Curaçao is currently around 358 (Vermeij, 2012), but expected to be much higher (~800, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 2015), which is relatively high compared to other Caribbean islands. It is assumed that this large number of species is partly related to the presence of the numerous marine habitat types on Curaçao such as coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangroves (Vermeij, 2012). Of all these fish species, snappers (Lutjanidae), are the most preferred reef associated fishes by fishermen, but coney (Cephalopholis fulva), graysby (Cephalopholis cruentata) and big eye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) (among others) are also in great demand. Large coral reef associated fishes have become quite scarce. Fishers sell practically all fish they catch resulting in low amounts of unused bycatch. As on Curaçao, large predatory coral reef fish (Serranidae (Epinephelinae), Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae, and Carangidae, Figure 4) account(ed) for a significant part of reef fisheries yield in most parts of the world (Russ & Alcala, 1996). Their life history characteristics (long life, slow growth, low rates of natural mortality, low and variable rates of recruitment; (see Ralston and Polovina 1987)) make them excellent potential indicators of fishing pressure on coral reefs (e.g., Bohnsack 1982, Munro 1983, Russ 1985, as cited in Russ & Alcala, 1996).

Fig. 4. The horse-eye jack (Pap.: korkobá blanku)(Caranx latus) is a highly desired coral reef associated fish of the jack family Carangidae. Photograph by Dr. Mark Vermeij.

Highly migratory species (HMS) of the open ocean are fish species that roam the ocean over vast distances, often crossing international borders. Highly migratory species are legally defined as those species listed in Annex 1 of United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea and include e.g., tuna and tuna-like species, oceanic sharks, pomfrets, sauries and dolphinfish (dorado/mahi-mahi) (Coryphaena hippurus) (Maguire et al. 2006). While these pelagic species foremost live in the open ocean, they sometimes spend part of their life cycle in nearshore waters (Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2019) where they become targeted by commercial and recreational fishers. In Curaçao wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), dorado, and tuna are the most targeted HMS. HMS generally grow significantly faster compared to reef associated fishes.

To illustrate: Wahoo in the western North Atlantic Ocean are short lived (Richard et al. 2008). Dolphinfish exhibit high growth rates, early maturity, and relatively short life spans (Oxenford, 1999). Tunas are among the fastest growing of all fishes (Murua et al. 2017), whereas many shark species are particularly vulnerable to overfishing due to their relatively low fecundity, slow growth rates, and late maturity (Musick et al. 2000).

The history of the fisheries sector on Curaçao