Jamaica targeting pelagic fishing to cut import

• Published date: 22 April 2024
• Publication title: Jamaica Star, The (Kingston, Jamaica)

Jamaica is among the top consumers of fish per capita globally, but despite being surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, which is renowned for a variety of some of the most-loved fishes, 68 per cent of the fish consumed locally is imported

"The only way we can put a stop to that is by ensuring that our fishers are able to go further out and to treat with the realities of climate change," said Green, who was speaking at the launch of a Pelagic Fishing Pilot Project at the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory in St Ann. The project is being executed under the Promoting Community Based Climate Resilience in the Fisheries Sector Project. It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, through the National Fisheries Authority (NFA). Green said the project is supported by the World Bank Group and the NFA.

"It looks at all the challenges that we have traditionally faced in our fisheries sector, and it prescribes the solutions, and it works out how we can get there. That is why we are very happy that the World Bank has come on board, and has supported this to the tune of US$4 million to...