If fishing has always been an integral part of Essequibo’s economy there is evidence that the transformation that has descended upon business in the region has rendered the fishing industry increasingly important to the livelihoods of its residents.
One indication of the consolidation of the region’s fishing industry is the patent evidence of the prominence of the boat-building industry. Accordingly, during our visit there two weeks ago Stabroek Business went to meet Leaton ‘Terrence’ Byron who, over time, has garnered a considerable reputation as a boat-builder.
Building fishing vessels is a pursuit in which the sixty-one-year-old has been involved for all of his adult life, having become attached to the trade at the age of sixteen. He began his apprenticeship at Jacklow in the Pomeroon, under the tutelage of Mr Hector Stoll where he spent five years. Two further attachments led him eventually to Charity where the heavy concentration of fishing activity persuaded him to create a business of his own.
