Financial injection to benefit fishers

With the demand for sushi and sashimi from North American markets growing substantially over the years, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy has taken significant steps to inject millions of dollars into the sector to reap the maximum benefits for local fisherfolk.

That announcement came from Minister Kirk Humphrey on Wednesday as he signed an agreement with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization of the (FAO) to further develop and improve the tuna fishery sector in Barbados.

The project, entitled Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Small Island Developing States, has been made possible through funds provided by the Government of the Republic of Korea and will see US$5.3 million being provided to the Ministry, to be fully spent on the maritime industry here.

Humphrey said the project was an important one. He said he sees the industry being developed in such a way that it will soon be able to export products that are more than compliant with international standards.

“Why this project appeals to me so much, is because it is not going to benefit necessarily the Government but…it benefits directly the persons who are involved in fishing for tuna and exporting tuna,” he said.

“Barbados has also determined that we want to be in a position to export to the EU [European Union] to meet the phytosanitary conditions. Unfortunately, we are not yet there; there are a number of things we have to do, but we have been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the FAO to put ourselves into the position to be able to do that. This project brings us closer to be able to export to the European Union.”

Humphrey also stressed that the Ministry’s mandate will not be to increase the volume of fish being caught but to improve the quality, to reach the high standard needed for export.

“For me, the whole idea of sustainable fisheries is so vitally important to the Ministry. In fact, it is one of the reasons we have the Ministry in the first place – to be able to pursue not just fisheries but to be able to pursue sustainable fisheries; to make sure that we do not overfish; to make sure we can tackle IUU [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing; to make sure we have modern techniques; to be able to trace from bait to plate, the way that is now determined by international agencies that you must be able to do; just to be able to become a modern fisheries department,” he said.

Sub-Regional Coordinator of the FAO Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean, Dr Renata Clarke said the project will improve the level of cooperation among all stakeholders in the sector, which will lead to better monetary returns for those in the industry.

“The project will support the development of an advanced Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) approach to fisheries development in collaboration with various stakeholders including fisherfolk and fisherfolk organisations… As fisherfolk will be part of the PPP structure, this will not only lead to enhanced revenues but also ensure more resilient stakeholders through increasing local capacity to manage sustainable fishery businesses,” she stated.

“This project does not necessarily aim to increase the volume of tuna catches, yet [it] is expected to add $2 million in gross revenues to the fishery sector….”