Dr. Tufton Says US$1 Cess on Conch Exports Will Support Fishing Industry

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, says that a US$1 cess on conch exports will be introduced this year to support the development of a sustainable fishing industry.
Dr. Tufton, who was addressing the monthly meeting of the St. James Parish Council on Thursday(March 12), said that the money will go into the Consolidated Fund(Budget), but would be reinvested in the fishing industry.
He was giving an update on his ministry’s plans for the sustainable development of the island’s fishing industry, including the current refurbishing of some 30 fishing beaches across the island.
“Essentially, what we are doing, we are going to be putting in sanitary conveniences or repair them, depending on what is already there; putting in a crude processing area; storage sheds for the engines and so on, for the fisherfolks,” the minister said.
“We are going to be organising the fishers more around it, so that they can have a cooperative of some kind, to monitor and to manage it. We are doing the same thing in 30 locations across the country, and we hope to continue that so we can, at least, improve their facilities,” he stated.
He said that the sustainable development of the fishing industry will require some amount of discipline from the fisherfolks involved, and that the elected representatives and other stakeholders from the respective areas should also get involved in the process.
With respect to legislative measures being put in place, Dr. Tufton said that a few more measures will be announced in his 2009/2010 budget presentation.
“We want to get the legislation in place, provide some basic infrastructure, some new laws like that protecting the fish sanctuaries, which we are going to man and as we progress try to reorient the fishers, because that is a big problem”, he stated.
Pointing out that in the past there has not been much regulation or enforcement with regards to the fishing industry, Dr. Tufton highlighted the dangers of such a situation. One such being that, although the fisherfolk depend on the sea, they practice methods that undermine the capacity of the sea to maintain them.
He said that some of the pieces of legislations to be put in place will not be popular, initially, but that over time positive results will be there for everyone to see.