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One of Barbados’ most beloved cultural gatherings, the Oistins Fish Festival, faces an existential threat without urgent, comprehensive reforms to its outdated management framework and public safety protocols, opposition Senator Ryan Walters has warned in an official statement shared with Barbados TODAY on Wednesday.

Rooted in decades of local coastal tradition, the festival has long been a cornerstone of both Barbadian cultural identity and small-scale enterprise, drawing thousands of local and international visitors annually to sample fresh local seafood, enjoy live entertainment, and celebrate the island’s fishing heritage. But Walters argues that a growing gap between its long-standing cultural legacy and shifting modern economic and social realities has put the event’s future viability at risk, with two key issues driving the crisis: plummeting profits for participating micro-vendors and widespread public anxiety over violent crime that is keeping crowds away.

Walters was quick to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of the festival’s existing management committee, which has worked for years to preserve the event’s core cultural identity. Even so, he highlighted widespread reports from on-the-ground small business owners of a steep, alarming decline in sales over recent events. The current management model, he argued, has not kept pace with modern event marketing strategies or the changing expectations of today’s festival-goers. The festival can no longer rely on its cultural heritage alone to draw crowds and sustain vendors, he insisted, noting that it must adapt to compete in an increasingly saturated regional and global entertainment market.

“We cannot walk into planning for the 2026 festival using the same structure, the same level of investment, and the same outdated approach that we relied on a decade ago,” Walters said. “Patron expectations have shifted entirely. How events are marketed and promoted has been revolutionized by digital platforms and new audience engagement strategies. Competition for the time and attention of both local and international visitors is far more intense than it once was. That means the entire support structure behind the festival has to evolve with these changes.”

Walters centered his call for reform on protecting the small entrepreneurs that form the backbone of the Oistins Fish Festival experience. For many of these micro-vendors, a slow weekend at the festival is far more than a minor disappointment: it delivers a major financial setback at a time when operating costs for small businesses across Barbados have skyrocketed. He challenged the current government to do more than simply provide a physical venue for vendors, calling for a new strategic framework that actively drives attendance to the event and guarantees vendors can earn a viable return on their investment.

Right now, Walters argued, the current model boils down to selling vendor spots and hoping for strong turnout, which shifts almost all the risk onto small business owners already operating on razor-thin profit margins. For most vendors, festival income is not casual side money: even a daily loss of $100 to $200 over the major festival weekend can cause devastating financial strain, especially as the costs of inventory, transportation, and labor continue to climb across the island.

A core component of Walters’ critique centered on the growing impact of recent violent crime trends on the festival’s appeal, noting that widespread public fear of violence has had a chilling effect on attendance. He tied the long-term success of Barbados’ heritage tourism sector directly to the government’s ability to maintain consistent public safety, explaining that anxiety over crime acts as a powerful deterrent for both local families and international tourists. The growing prevalence of gun violence in public spaces, he argued, creates an economic barrier that no amount of marketing can overcome without direct, decisive intervention from the government.

“Another critical issue we cannot sweep under the rug is the growing public concern over crime across Barbados, particularly shootings in public gathering spaces,” Walters said. “This is not just a law enforcement issue—it directly hits public confidence and keeps people from participating. If attendees do not feel safe, they will simply stay home, no matter how well the event is marketed or promoted. The government has to treat this with the urgency it deserves and put stronger, visible safety measures in place to reverse this troubling trend.”

Walters closed by noting that while public affection for the Oistins Fish Festival remains strong, the electric energy and large crowds that once defined the iconic event are missing compared to other major national gatherings across the island. He urged the government to abandon complacent status-quo planning to protect the livelihoods of small vendors and unlock the festival’s full economic potential.

“Public safety is the absolute foundation of any successful national event,” he emphasized. “Without it, even the most well-planned festival will struggle to draw the crowds that vendors and local communities depend on. The core of the festival is strong. The public passion for it is there. Its cultural importance to Barbados is unquestioned. Now, we have to expand our vision to make the festival bigger, better, and economically viable for every single person involved.”

After a trial that laid out allegations of sustained financial exploitation, a Barbadian used car dealer has been found guilty of sustained theft and money laundering that drained more than $42,000 from a single customer over the course of two years. Dwayne Omar Clarke, a resident of Warrens Crescent in St Michael, was handed the unanimous conviction by a nine-member jury at the No. 5A Supreme Court, following a prosecution led by Barbados’ Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Court documents detail two distinct counts of theft and criminal proceeds possession, both linked to customer Joy-Ann Mapp. The first conviction stems from an $18,000 cheque issued by Republic Bank Limited and made payable to Clarke’s business, MD Auto Sales, taken between August 17, 2019, and July 6, 2021. Clarke was also found guilty of holding these funds, which he knew or reasonably should have known were obtained through criminal activity.

The second guilty verdict comes from a second theft: a $24,500 Republic Bank cheque made payable directly to Clarke personally on February 4, 2020. Clarke wrongfully withheld this sum from Mapp, and held the funds as criminal proceeds between the date of the cheque and July 6, 2021, when the charges were brought.

In an unusual procedural detail, Clarke chose to represent himself throughout the trial, rather than retaining private legal counsel or requesting a court-appointed attorney. The prosecution team was led by Principal State Counsel Romario Straker, supported by State Counsels Maya Kellman and Eleazar Williams.

Following the jury’s guilty verdict on all counts, Justice Christopher Birch ordered Clarke be remanded to Dodds Prison to await his sentencing hearing. The case will resume on April 10, when the court will hand down official punishment for the convictions.

Barbados is confronting a accelerating child protection emergency, newly released official data confirms, with hundreds of minors experiencing abuse and neglect across the country over the last two years. Speaking at the official launch of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month held at the HIV/AIDS Conference Room this Wednesday, Roseanne Richards, head of the Social Care Delivery and Support Directorate at Barbados’ Social Empowerment Agency (SEA), outlined the staggering scale of the issue. Between 2024 and 2026, officials recorded roughly 639 reported incidents of child mistreatment, which impacted a total of 811 children across the island nation. The majority of these reported cases are concentrated in two populous parishes: St Michael and Christ Church.

Neglect stands as the most widespread form of child maltreatment recorded in the data, Richards emphasized. She noted that female children are disproportionately impacted by neglect, with inadequate adult supervision identified as the leading root cause. Under Barbadian national law, leaving children under the age of 12 unsupervised without appropriate care qualifies as neglect – a violation that becomes even more severe when older children are forced to supervise younger siblings. Richards added that neglect often acts as a gateway to other forms of abuse, including physical, sexual and verbal mistreatment, making it the most pressing priority for intervention.

Addressing systemic delays in processing child protection court cases, Richards explained that effective intervention requires coordinated cross-sector collaboration. Social work experts rely on close partnerships with law enforcement, medical professionals, mental health practitioners, and school officials to resolve cases, and progress depends on the alignment of all involved stakeholders.

Adrian Forde, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, highlighted that new national child protection legislation approved in January introduces a key structural reform: mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse for all adults who work regularly with children. Forde noted that while it is unfortunate that legal mandate was required to enforce this responsibility, the new framework creates clear accountability for protecting at-risk minors. He stressed that every resident of Barbados holds an inherent duty to safeguard the nation’s children, noting that even one case of abused child is unacceptable for the country. Protecting children, he added, is an investment in Barbados’ future, as today’s young people will go on to lead the small island developing state in coming decades. The government remains fully committed to building a safe environment where all young people can thrive and reach their potential, Forde said.

To mark the fifth annual Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, SEA has planned a full slate of public education and outreach activities in partnership with UNICEF and other key stakeholders. Throughout the month, SEA representatives will appear on national radio and television programming to raise public awareness, and new public service announcements will educate communities on how to identify and prevent child abuse. Series of targeted workshops will run through April and May covering critical emerging and ongoing issues, including online child safety in digital spaces, forensic investigation techniques for abuse cases (held in partnership with the Barbados Police Service), and caregiver training for parents, teachers, sports coaches and other frontline professionals who work with children. The month of activities will conclude with a public Walk Against Abuse scheduled for April 24 in Warrens.