Perched along the seacoast of Montego Bay is the sleepy fishing village of Whitehouse, 15 minutes east of downtown Montego Bay. It is not surprising that the majority of the community's approximately 900 residents have turned to fishing as their main source of employment. One of the community's longest serving fishermen is 68-year-old Kenneth 'Tom' Gibbs. "From mi inna mi modda belly mi ah fisherman," he stated.
According to him, his choice of employment was the best thing he had ever done. "When you work for people and you don't make any money, you have to answer to them. But when I go fishing for myself, whatever the good Lord provide for me at the sea, I satisfy with it," Gibbs added. He explained that his father and grandfather were fishermen, and now his sons have also followed in his footsteps by turning to the sea.
"A fisherman only eats fish and can never get tired of it," Gibbs said, before treating the Western Focus team to roasted fish, which he called 'Bun Finger'. He recalls that his home community has always been a fishing village, and boasts a 100 per cent crime-free record, because of the relationship between the residents and their respect for each other.
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