Help for ailing fishing industry - Regional workshop opens next week
Published:Sunday | November 13, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Sunday Gleaner Writer
Jamaica's hosting of a four-day regional fisheries management workshop starting Tuesday, comes at a time when the local industry is in serious decline, facing threats from various angles.
The African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Fish II programme which kicks off with a networking media workshop at the Wyndham Kingston hotel forms part of a larger global project to strengthen fisheries management, improve food security and alleviate poverty in 78 ACP member states.
Participants from 15 CARIFORUM countries are gathering to review the objectives and benefits of the ACP Fish II programme implementation and participate in training on the preparation of the terms of reference with the European Development Fund (EDF) project cycle. The EDF is funding the pro-ject to the tune of €30 million.
However, Captain Havelon Honeyghan, chairman of the Jamaica Fishermen Co-operative Union Limited is hopeful that the workshop will offer practical solutions for the ailing fishing industry.
"Will it translate into practical means of adding to your production or in a communication link? For instance, will Barbados grant licences to allow Jamaican fishermen to fish in their territorial waters? These questions he put to The Sunday Gleaner before going on to paint a damning picture of the fishing situation in Jamaica.
Honeyghan, who hails from Westmoreland and has been fishing for more than 50 years, said he had left some 65 fishing pots at sea which he had no intention of harvesting. He charged that while the combined value of the neglected pots is in the region of $300,000, each fishing trip is now costing him in the region of $70,000 from which he earns about half that amount of money.
"The deck is stacked against the fishing and the lowering of the catch is a most serious concern," he declared. "The industry has contracted so much that people are afraid to talk about it. Five years ago, there were 65 to 70 boats at Whitehouse and Pedro Bank. Today, we have about 15 boats fishing out there and they have to be putting out more effort, about 400 traps to every boat."
Economic fallout
Captain Honeyghan says his organisation is preparing to do a comprehensive survey to determine exactly the level of economic fallout and contributing reasons. The high cost of fuel is one. He directed this reporter to visit a number of fishing villages in St Elizabeth where a number of boats have been relatively idle, due mainly to the high cost of fuel.
According to the Fishermen Co-operative chairman, depending on who one speaks to on the matter in the Fisheries Department, you are likely to get a different and sometimes confusing answer. Despite leaving a number of messages for André Kong, director or fisheries, up to press time The Sunday Gleaner had no response from his office.