‘Fishing sector still growing despite challenges’

A government senator says the local fishing industry has demonstrated how generational wealth can be created from simple entrepreneurial pursuits.

Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight made the comment as she led debate in the Upper House on Wednesday, in the absence of leader of government business Senator Lisa Cummins, when debate began on the Sustainable Fisheries Management and Development Bill 2025. The proposed legislation has already been approved by the Lower Chamber.

Highlighting the fishing community of Oistins, Christ Church as an example, Munro-Knight said many who operated in the industry at various levels often involved generations of families “being able to garner a level of wealth”.

“It suggests that there . . . is potential within the fisheries sector for greater levels of employment, greater levels of growth and investment, and to be able to expand the opportunities . . . that people can see themselves in a sector that will offer them multiple opportunities for advancement for themselves and for their families,” she told the Senate.

Highlighting the fact that in 2016 there were about 3 000 people employed in the fishing industry, she noted that today, that number is now over 6 000.

“People do not get involved in a sector that is failing [or] a sector that is not showing growth,” she contended.

At the same time, Senator Munro-Knight conceded that all was “not perfect” particularly against a background of setbacks caused by storm surges from Hurricane Beryl last year which destroyed or damaged a significant percentage of the island’s fishing fleet.

“I don’t want to make the argument that everything is perfect, that there are no challenges. Of course, there are going to be challenges and things that we have to address, like any other sector,” she pointed out.

The government senator made the argument that the current administration was addressing many of the issues confronting the fishing sector including how the sector “could build back better” after the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl.

As she addressed the contents of the Sustainable Fisheries Management and Development Bill, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted the new Advisory Council which the proposed legislation will mandate.

That council will comprise experts in areas such as fisheries management and aquaculture, as well as various stakeholders in the sector.

According to the senator: “Part four [of the bill] provides for the establishment of a fisheries management and development plan. . . . It indicates that the chief fisheries officer, in consultation with stakeholders . . . to have the implementation of that plan. And that plan is to be reviewed every five years . . . responding to the dynamism within the sector.”

The Senator also noted the importance that the planned bill placed on data collection.

“If we’re talking about building resilience, if we’re talking about growth and development, if we’re talking about future-proofing, we need to be able to do that based on facts and knowledge of what is actually happening.

“And you would see that under Part 5 [of the bill] it makes provision for the collection of information from those who are involved in the sector [and for them] to be obligated to provide information that would allow for the accurate collection of the data,” she told the Senate.

(IMC1)