By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner Writer FISHERMEN IN Whitehouse, Westmoreland, are appealing to Government to assist in rescuing the local fishing industry from the competition they face from imported fish.
The fishers say they will be writing this week to Roger Clarke, Minister of Agriculture, asking him to meet them in the hope of hammering out a solution to stave off the threat to the livelihood of thousands of Jamaicans.
"We have been taking a severe battering and are now reeling from the situation brought on by the sluggish sales due to the dumping of imported fish on the local market," said Havelan Honeyghan, chairman of the Gillings Gully Fishermen's Co-operative, speaking in an interview on Thursday.
Mr. Honeyghan said that large amounts of local catch that would normally be sold to the hotels and restaurants are now in the deep freeze because the imported fish has been coming in at less than half the price at which the local fish is sold.
"You see we are unable to compete with the foreign market. When you consider the enormous operational costs here - the price of imputs such as engines, gasoline and mesh; we have to sell at a cost at which we can make a fair return. But how can we compete when the imported fish is on the market for $60 a pound and the least we can sell our local catch for is $130 a pound," Mr. Honeyghan said.
The Gillings Gully Co-op chairman was emphatic that government could not allow the local fishing industry to die, noting that too much was at stake
