The Fisheries Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is to begin construction of a fishing device to improve fish catch as part of its Fish Aggregation Project.

The device, also known as a fish attracting device, is an artificial floating shelter made of bamboo, which is anchored to the sea floor. The equipment attracts, traps and collects large quantities of fish.

Senior Fisheries Officer Ian Jones said the aim of the project was to encourage small fishers to concentrate on catching large fishes found in pelagic or mid-waters and move away from the over-fished coral reefs.

"We want fewer people using traps and more people venturing into the offshore, open sea areas," he stressed.

Mr. Jones said the fishing device would target tuna and other pelagic fish, such as wahoo, marlin, snapper and grouper, rather than reef fish. The mechanism would also provide fingerlings with food, shelter and protection from predators.

Experiment

He noted that an experiment to test the feasibility of the apparatus was slated to be conducted with fisherfolk in Whitehorses, St. Thomas, but he said the agency "was currently waiting on the permit to be passed by the National Environ-ment and Planning Agency, to actually go ahead and launch at sea."

Commenting on the importance of the project to the island, Mr. Jones said the country needed to look at alternatives and diversify the fishing sector, so that "we can reduce the stress on coral reefs, which is further exacerbated by hurricanes, algae and sewage."

The Fisheries Division has already received international assistance from the Japan International Co-operation Agency, which has donated gears to the organisation.