Extensive Support for Fisheries Sector

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is providing extensive support for the fisheries sector, which was devastated by the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Floyd Green, explained that more than 3,000 boats were destroyed by the powerful storm, with fishers losing the majority of their fishing equipment, including wires and pots.

As a result, the sector has received immediate relief from the Ministry, as 900 rolls of wire, valued at $19 million, have already been distributed across 20 beaches.

“We’re now procuring 2,000 rolls of wire. We will start that distribution next week,” Minister Green said, outlining additional relief that will be made available to fisherfolk.

Minister Green was speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing, held on Wednesday (December 3) at Jamaica House, in Kingston, where he gave an update on the Ministry’s post-hurricane recovery work.

In addition to the wires, the Minister said ten 2,500-gallon tanks have been purchased to be positioned at some fishing beaches to help fishers with post-harvest management and personal hygiene.

He said that fishers in areas that were not hard-hit by the hurricane – St. Mary, St. Catherine, Kingston and St. Andrew – will receive net and wire as part of the Ministry’s drive to have the sector rebound quickly.

Minister Green also announced a programme for distributing ice to fishing beaches that depend on fuel stations that are currently without electricity.

This is in addition to plans to dispatch generators to fuel stations, so the businesses can return to operations.

“Generators have been dispatched to Alligator Pond [in Manchester] and Great Bay [in St. Elizabeth], and those stations are now operating. The Whitehouse [in Westmoreland] fuel station – we’ve done some cleaning work, and our electrical assessment is on the way to see how we can get it up and running,” Mr. Green said.

Meanwhile, he advised fishers that if they lost their identification (ID) cards and their fishing licence during the hurricane, to reach out to the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) to have them replaced free of cost.

The Minister further noted that fisherfolk in the hardest-hit parishes will receive a six-month moratorium on licence and ID fees.

As for Parottee in St. Elizabeth, Mr. Green said that a team has been earmarked to go to the fishing community to conduct clean-up activities.

“Unfortunately, when you go into Parottee, all the boats are in the morass; boats are stacked on top of each other. We’re going to move, hopefully this weekend, to try and treat with that,” Mr. Green said.