THE MINISTRY of Agriculture is reporting a resurgence in the production of fresh water fish, with total annual production now 4,000 tonnes and climbing, says Valentine Rodney, director of aquaculture.
Mr. Rodney has put a $500 million value on local freshwater fish, with over 160 hectares of fish ponds under production and some 140 producers involved in the sector.
"There is some significant breakthrough as it relates to agricultural marketing and therefore there seems to be some interest in people going back into freshwater fishing."
"The whole matter of inland fishing is now becoming quite lucrative. Our offices are bombarded on a regular basis by new and interested parties," the aquaculture official told a agriculture forum recently.
Presenting an overview of the entire local fishing industry, Mr. Rodney said fish production was approximately 15,000 tonnes per annum while conch production was at 1,366 tonnes.
The island's marine and fresh water fisheries produce $1.8 billion in fish a year, according to a Jamaica Information Service release.
The director of aquaculture identified the absence of "satisfactory property rights" as a critical issue in the fishery industry, noting that in the marine sector there was currently no legislation in place to permit cordoning off a particular area and reserving it exclusively for fishing.
Suggesting an integrated approach to achieving and maintaining some measure of competitive edge in the international marketing of local products, Mr. Rodney argued for the establishment of partnerships and some degree of "harmonious working relationships" among state agriculture agencies.
He called for both a free flow and sharing of information, underscored the importance of training and market intelligence, and pointed to the need for a database that provided access to market information.
