Chris Tufton

Over the last two and a half years, the fishing industry has been hit hard by a series of hurricanes. Many 'fishers' were wiped out.

Most do not have the capacity to borrow to re-engage the process. Most have no insurance and their savings are limited. They have been forced into inactivity with the consequential hardships for them and their families due to limited options in their communities.

But this crisis is even more profound. The fact is that over the last decade, the resources of the sea have been increasingly depleted, caused by a combination of factors, including over fishing, illegal fishing and pollution. Added to this crisis are outdated legislation, limited enforcement and ignorance of the importance of sustaining fishing methods. All this has led to an industry that is in an uncertain state.

Despite this, government action has been tardy.

There appears a lack of urgency to address the problem. For example, new legislation to replace the 1976 Fisheries Regulation have taken well over a decade and are still yet to come to fruition. As I understand it, the policy to guide this legislation has been drafted since 2004, but is yet to reach Cabinetfor consultation and approval.

In my opinion, the Government has consistently treated the Fisheries Division as a secondary or less important activity of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Call to Action

We need at this time to hear from the Government.

We need to hear when this policy document will be submitted to Parliament and discussed, and we need to have appropriate consultation with other stakeholders in the industry to better understand the challenges, and craft and implement an effective multi-agency set of solutions. In short, we need appropriate policy and legislation to guide the sustainable development of the industry.

We need the commitment, determination and the resources to ensure that proper enforcement, technical support, and public education are used to guide the sustainability of the industry.

By way of context, Jamaica's marine fishing industry is one of the oldest and most vital to persons living in coastal towns across the country.

There are 187 fishing beaches in Jamaica today, including the Pedro and Morant Cays. In 1993, the year when registration of fishers started, 485 fishers were recorded. Information from the Registration Unit of the Fisheries Division indicate that at the beginning of 2006 over 4,400 fishing vessels and approximately 16,000 fishers were registered.

But this only tells a partial story, as many other fishers are not registered with the Fisheries Authority. Many see little value in this exercise and this is a challenge faced by the industry, as it is difficult to get a true picture of the size of the industry and therefore provide a proper basis for planning.

Key stakeholders in the industry suggest that there are approximately 30,000 fisherfolks directly involved in the industry. Approximately 90 per cent are artisanal or small scale fishermen while the others are involved in more commercial or game fishing.

If we assume, a conservative estimate, of a four-member family for each fisherfolk and add all the supporting activities - trap makers, ice providers, pot transporters, sticks providers, fishing goods, store and fish vendors, and their families - over 200,000 Jamaicans survive directly or indirectly from fishing activities.

This is not an industry to take lightly.

Many lives depend on it. They know little else. Regrettably, many in the industry lack the capacity to coordinate its sustainability, either out of ignorance, survival instinct or deviant behaviour.

Fishing becomes an easy and logical option for persons who live in coastal towns and have very little skills and no job opportunities. This is a systemic problem which fuels and supports this option. I have been told stories of fishing activity passing from generation to generation; a father of 10 children with eight of his offspring taking to the sea because of limited economic options to do much else.

So, it is important for us to understand that while for the most part those who participate in fishing activities love and enjoy this activity, most have very little option to do anything else. Fishing for many, therefore, is a survival strategy.

However, it is becoming harder and harder to survive from this activity. On a per capita basis, stocks have been in decline for some time. In fact, a look back at the history reveals that as far back as 1945, Earnest F. Thompson, working on behalf of the British Colonial Office, concluded in a report on the fishing industry that the north shelf and south shelf of the island were overfished and proposed a department of fisheries to implement programmes to monitor the fishing industry.

As far back as then, he proposed the establishment of a revolving loan scheme to provide fishermen with outboard engines to go further out to sea, rather than concentrating their efforts just off shore where stocks were declining.

It took 30 years since then for the Fisheries Department to have been established and also a loan scheme which started in 1955 but is no longer in place.

Stock Decline

The reality of the challenge we face is that we seem to be extracting from the sea, at a faster pace than the capacity of the sea to naturally replenish its stocks. As a consequence, with more fishers at sea and less fish to go around, we are not only catching less but the quality of the catch is getting worse.

During the early independence period, we were taking from the sea approximately 24 million pounds of fish. As said earlier, this catch involved far fewer fishers than we have today and therefore more economically viable. In 2005, our catch, according to the Fisheries Division, was approximately 15.8 million pounds or just over 7,185 metric tons. The latest data (2006) suggests a fish catch of over 24 million pounds; however, included in this data are quantities of conch and lobster, according to the Fisheries Division.

In addition to this reduction in

per capita catch quantity, is a decline in catch quality, as determined by low catch weight and small fish size and a shift in categories of fish caught from what is described as quality fish like snappers to less quality fish or trash fish such as grunts.

Higher Production Costs

This is taking place in a context where there is much greater effort and expense going into the catch. Cost of production is therefore higher and by logical conclusion, the profitability of this activity is much less.

Once catch weight and quality of fish goes down, then prices are suppressed, leading to less or no profits for fishers.

Increasing operation costs make the fisherman unable to finance his expeditions.

A 60 HP engine today cost approximately $300,000 and a 30-foot boat is approximately $400,000. Other costs includes fuel, safety gears, and catch equipment. So expensive are input costs that it has become a routine for fishers to overlook safety gears in exchange for the essentials such as fuel. Many do this to their detriment; lost at sea, never to return. Since I have been in South West St. Elizabeth as Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker, I have seen at least five fishers who have gone to sea never to return,leaving their families in despair with no apparent breadwinner and no life insurance, an almost impossible facility to get in this industry.

Global Concerns

If we are to address this problem we must face the realities that exist. On a global scale, the fishing industry is under threat.

According to the United Nations, most of the world's fisheries have been either fished to their limits, or beyond. The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that, in 2004, about one-quarter of the stocks it monitors were overexploited (17 per cent), depleted (seven per cent), or recovering from depletion (one per cent), and in need of rebuilding. About half of the stocks (52 per cent) were fully exploited, producing catches that were close to their maximum sustainable yields. Only about one-quarter were underexploited (three per cent) or moderately exploited (20 per cent), and could perhaps produce more.

This grim picture tells me that as a country we cannot afford to not have a cohesive plan and strategy to protect our industry in the face of this global and national challenge.

We need a vision that addresses the sustainability of the industry. This is important for the fishers and their families, those in related industries and the country in general. We cannot be ad hoc in our approach, we cannot seem uncertain.

We have to make tough decisions. This should involve training, restrictions, enforcement, research and proactive action. We have to embark on a drive to adjust the mindset of the key stakeholders in the industry: the fishers, the environmentalist, the communities and regulatory agencies.

Why has it taken so long to get a final policy and appropriate legislation to secure the sustainability of the industry? Why are we delaying?

Any approach to moving forward must begin with a vision of the industry, a coherent plan and the human and physical resources to make the plan work.

Christopher Tufton is a lecturer at the University of the West Indies' Mona campus and the Jamaica Labour Party's caretaker for South West St. Elizabeth.

Continues next week.