WESTERN BUREAU:
CITING THE fishing industry's difficulty in getting investors, Havland Honeyghan, chairman of the Jamaica Fishermen Co-operative Union (JFCU), has called on the government to put a dollar value on the fishing industry.
"Government is afraid to put a dollar value on the industry," Mr. Honeyghan said. "Once we have established the dollar value, investors will have more interest," he argued. "Government and non-governmental organisations will not want to assist (invest) unless they know what you are doing what's your contribution to the country?"
Commenting on the government's treatment of the sector to date, Mr. Honeyghan lamented the absence of the fish industry as a contributor to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). "Last year, the country saw a supply of about 9,000 metric tonnes of fish which was consumed locally," Mr. Honeyghan said. "Now what would have happened if you did not have that 9,000 metric tonnes? It would have cost the government more than $32 million to fill that gap."
"There is nothing in the GDP that says this has been contributed by the fishing industry," said Mr. Honeyghan, adding that although sector falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, it appears that all other produce, such as yam, banana and citrus, are itemised for their impact on the GDP output while the fishing sector is not.
According to him, between 460 and 480,000 people work in the sector.
- C.H.
