Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
Taacoor Dial—a fisherman who knows nothing else
Fishing today has become revolutionized more in part of the inroads that technology has made. Seasoned fisherman,
Taacoor Dial
Taacoor Dial said if he had to do it all over again he definitely would. Dial’s humble beginnings as a fisherman started at age nine.
Dial’s late father, Ranjit Persaud, was a fisherman and like his dad, he was forced to quit School and accompany his father at sea at a young age to supplement the family’s income.
Dial has spent 64 years fishing at sea but while he has officially given up his regular trips at sea these last ten years, the 73-year-old man who cannot be easily separated from the only trade he grew to know and what has given him everything he owns, would today purchase fish from his only son, Naithram Persaud.
His son has taken off from where Dial has left off. He sells fish from his Cotton Field home and also at the Anna Regina Old market.
Taacoor Dial said that he began humbly at Johanna Cecilia, on the Essequibo Coast where he grew up. His marriage to Selina Dial would however take him to Cotton Field Village, where he had lived for the past 54 years.
He is the father of seven adult children. During the 60s and 70s when Dial started out fishing, he did so via the sail boat. His journey would begin at three, every morning when Dial would be forced to sail from Johanna Cecilia to the Pomeroon River, some fifty miles away. In the Pomeroon River his catch was the greatest. Dial said a lot of fish was had in that area.
After sailing for fifty miles for his adult life, Dial said that after completing his journey to the Pomeroon River, he would be further tasked with setting his seine, something that took about half an hour to complete.
Dial asserted that his catch was huge. He said he would then journey back to Johanna Cecilia where he would be greeted by anxious housewives who would purchase his fresh Gillbacker and Snapper. Dial said his task as a salesman wasn’t that tedious, since he caught the fish that was most demanded on the market.
He was rewarded with a trophy by the late Agriculture Minister, Satyadeow Sawh for catching the most Gillbacker. The remainder of Dial’s fish was given to men in the village to sell for a commission. Dial said in those days when he worked alongside his father, he was given one shilling for his efforts.
He said the fishing trade has become transformed since the advent of engine boats. Recalling why he was forced to give up his sail boat, Dial recalled one day whilst returning from his journey to the Pomeroon River he encountered insufficient wind power to aid the efficient maneuvering of his sail boat.
He said that he was forced to throw away an entire boat load of fish, since his journey took longer than normal and his catch had began to spoil. A disappointed Dial would later confront his other to purchase an engine boat for him.
Dial said from that one instance of spoilage, he never encountered a similar situation and never experienced spoilage again in his lifetime as a fisherman.
Dial said that with the advent of refrigerator his business became more efficient. He said he always noted “at the back of his head”, that Education was critical for his children’s development.
“Me love me children and I didn’t want anything to happen to them.”
He is now the proud grandfather of 32 and 31 great great grandchildren. He has been married to his wife Selina Dial for the past 54 years. And although Dial has been catching fish for so long, he says that he prefers a meal of chicken over fish. (By Yannason Duncan).
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A lesson from the bread lines of America
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- If the American elections of 2024 delivered any one lesson to the rest of the world, it... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
