Christopher Tufton, ContributorI am not convinced that the Government is fully abreast of the size of the fishing industry, in terms of number of fishers, catch volume and quality.
I am not convinced that there are 16,000 fishers, as suggested by the Fisheries Division, nor do I accept the 20,000 estimates.
If you talk to the All-Island Fisherman's Co-op. they will tell you it's more than 30,000. Additionally, illegal fishing, particularly by foreigners, is destructively rampant.
Due to our inadequate surveillance and enforcement capacity, we are unable to accurately determine the extent to which our waters are being illegally exploited.
We need to know the exact size of the industry and be able to keep track of it. This will determine the extent of the activities within our coastal waters. It is therefore important to have an effective registration system that is enforced.
This is in the interest of all stakeholders. Proper enforcement will protect legitimate fishers from illegal activities, including foreigners who consistently pirate our waters and steal our catch. This will also help the authorities to effectively plan for the future.
Restricted breeding zones
With the decline of our fishing stocks, we must look at the establishment ofa ratio between fishing to non-fishing areas.
This is in the best interest of the fishers, as it ensures that stocks are allowed to be replenished and therefore guarantee the sustainability of the industry.
The fishing Industry Act now allows for Government to establish these areas, but with limited enforcement, effectiveness is compromised.
It is important that once these areas are established they are effectively monitored. It would be unfair for honest and legitimate fishers to be honouring this law, in their long-term interest, while others operate in breach.
But we cannot restrict our locals from these areas and then, due to a lack of monitoring, allow pirates on the high seas to come in illegally and exploit our natural resources. Illegal fishing is a major threat to this industry, and part of any reform must be to boost the monitoring and enforcement capacity of our coastal waters. Not nearly enough is being done currently.
Need for enforcement
The enforcement mechanism is dependent on the JDF Coast Guard, the Marine Police and Fisheries officers. Combined, these agencies are inadequate to service a combined area within our Exclusive Economic Zone (ECZ) of over 52,826 nautical miles.
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has four offshore patrol vessels and nine serviceable inshore patrol vessels. At any given time, they have one vessel patrolling and one on standby.
The Marine Police are more concerned with inshore. That's over 5,000 nautical miles. They recently received a 42 ft. Go Fast boat and have been promised 40 smaller vessels. This will help. The capacity of the fisheries officers is limited.
There is also an issue of co-ordination between Fisheries Division, the Marine Police and the JDF. For the most part it is ad hoc, or based on specific intelligence rather than routine standard operating procedure. This must change.
The limited enforcement has yielded some results, but I am of the opinion that for every one caught many more slip through the cracks, and our fishers and country are suffering because of this. There are daily stories of fishers losing their catch and, in some cases, their lives at sea.
In deeper waters the situation is no different. In 2006, only four apprehensions took place by the Coast Guard, including a vessel named Mr. James with 1,2000 lb of conch, and one named F/V Bryce with 25,960 lb of conch.
With these limited resources, can you imagine how many have got away? This cannot be allowed to continue.
Recent indications suggest that the Jamaican Government was collaborating with the U.S. authorities to establish a base on the Pedro Cays. This was to create a monitoring facility to ensure that pirates on the high seas, whether trading in guns, drugs or illegal fishing, could be apprehended and brought to justice.
My understanding is that the work on this project has stopped. This would be an important initiative for our country and legitimate fishers. Why has the work stopped, and when will it commence?
It is not only foreigners who breach the rules of fishing, many of our locals do it also. We have to discourage this because those who go that route must understand that they are killing the very industry that so many Jamaicans depend on to survive. I, however, believe that the overwhelming numbers of fishers are law-abiding and doing the right thing.
Local community involvement
I think it is also important to engage the local community more, as part of encouraging good fishing practice and legislative enforcement.
A system of community fishing wardens must be implemented on a wide scale to ensure that communities which are key stakeholders play an important role in ensuring that the industry is sustained.
We have to look at the methods of fishing and the gears that are used to generate the catch. Currently, many methods are used but we must get to the stage where we use methods that protect the capacity of the fish stock to replenish itself.
We have to get to the point where we understand that if we destroy thestocks before they are allowed to reproduce, then we are contributing to the species' extinction and the death of the industry. I don't believe than any well-thinking fisher would want that. We need to educate ourselves and all the stakeholders of this reality.
But it must not stop there. The Government must be proactive in providing an avenue to equip fishers to practise sustainable fishing. Current fishing methods are the only thing many of these fishers know. Additionally, they are undercapitalised and uninsured. Many were never trained formally and would have a hard time doing anything else.
But there are others who are perhaps younger and trainable. I am recommending that the Fisheries Division team up with the University of the West Indies and non-governmental organisations, like the Portland Bight, to conduct a study to assess the personal and equipment capacity of our fishers.
Voluntary retraining initiative
I suggest that such a study could be used as a basis to establish a fishers voluntary retraining initiative for fishers who decide to try other areas of economic activity.
I suggest that such an initiative could be conducted in conjunction with HEART NTA. I suggest that once training takes place such fishers are given the support and advice to access small business loans to facilitate their transition to other areas of economic activity.
Industries like tourism and fishing are logical linkages, and I believe that particularly younger fishers would have no difficulty looking at becoming tour operators or establishing small business for tourists on fishing beaches. This initiative would give fishers who are currently not making a viable livelihood in fishing options to get into other areas.
For those who opt to stay, there must be a programme of routine training in sustainable fishing methods.
Certification process
Over time fishers become skilled personnel. Many, however, do not have formal certification and are unable to legitimately transfer their skills into other jurisdictions.
We need to explore a certification process for our fishers and develop a clear policy on how these skills can be transferred within the region, starting with the CSME area.
We have seen in recent times semi-skilled and even unskilled foreign workers getting permits to come here to take up jobs; our fishers should have the flexibility to go where the opportunities are. The Government must use its membership in the CSME to lobby for a clear position in this area.
Other areas of concern include the lack of a loan scheme and insurance for fishers. In this regard, the Government continues to give lip service and promises but little action.
In 2000, former Prime Minister PJ Patterson, in the presence of Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, announced, while opening the Whitehouse Fishing Village in Westmoreland, a $40 million revolving loan scheme for fishers.
To date, this has not materialised. The Government has said nothing since and not a whisper from the minister. This was not a handout. It was supposed to be a loan for fishers. Past schemes have gone bankrupt so I know there is a fear. We must find an appropriate way to administer the scheme to ensure transparency, accountability and prudent management.
The fishers co-operatives could be an important vehicle in this regard, but the fact is that for the most part the fishers co-operative don't have the confidence among most fishers.
In fact, only a small fraction of fishers are members of the fisher's co-operatives.
I think there is value in pursuing a relationship between the fisher's co-operatives, the credit union movement, and the Government, to establish a comprehensive financial structure that deals not just with loan funds, but savings and insurance for fishers.
The credit union movement has tremendous credibility and a successful track record, and they could lend their community-based approach towards establishing this structure in a viable way for them and in the interest of fishers.
The time has come to greater empowerthe agency responsible for managing our country's fishing industry. Plans to establish the Fisheries Division into an executive agency is a good move. It will mean that there will be more autonomy, resources, and hopefully, a greater commitment towards industry reform to secure the well-being of fishers and the industry generally.
It is quite clear that in its current state the Fisheries Division is bureaucratic, slow to action, understaffed and under-resourced.
Resolved to act
There is a need for more efficient management tools, data collection mechanism, personnel and co-ordination with other relevant agencies. In support of this, I suggest that the industry is sufficiently important to have a minister with dedicated responsibility for the fishing industry. And those who ask where are the resources to come from to undergo these many changes, I say the first thing needed is the political will.
When we are resolved to act, then we may take advice given by Carlton Davis, current Cabinet Secretary, chairman of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute and head of the civil service.
In an interview with Gleaner journalist Earl Moxam published on May 24, 2004, he suggested that money from the Capital Development Fund be used to reform and upgrade the fishing industry.
In that interview, Carlton Davis expressed the view that Jamaica's fishing industry must be viewed as a critical industry for the future. I share that view.
Presentation to the Senate by Senator Dr. Chris Tufton. Comments at cctufton@yahoo.com
