Lagoa fishermen are banding together to fight thieves who keep making off with their engines. The spate of thefts from boats sheltering on the shore at Senhora da Rocha has already netted thousands of euros worth equipment, reports Correio da Manhã. Maritime police are investigating but fishermen are unimpressed. Just at the weekend, another three boats were attacked.
“This is the second engine they’ve taken from me,” Clementina Paixão, 51, the owner of fishing boat ‘Celso’ told the newspaper.
“Since the beginning of 2013, they (the thieves) have stolen 10 engines”, 74-year-old Fernando Guerreiro added.
Disgusted with what is happening, the fishermen are now going to “mount their own vigilance” in a bid to secure the equipment on board the 20 or so boats brought in to Senhora da Rocha to escape winter wave surges.
The latest thefts, which took place on Saturday night, stripped the engines of ‘Celso’, ‘Pipota’ and ‘Lénia and Luís’. Tools used by the thieves to dismantle the equipment were all found discarded in nearby bushes.
The engines will each cost well over €1,000 to replace. Celso’s alone cost its owner €1,500, she told Correio da Manhã.
