Stakeholders in Fisheries Sector Lauded for Strengthening Food Security

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is saluting stakeholders in the island’s Fisheries sector on World Fisheries Day (Monday, November 21), for their role in strengthening the country’s food security.

Senior Aquaculture Extension Officer in the Aquaculture Division of the NFA, Leanne Morris Bennett, said the global observance aims to recognise the importance of fisheries and aquaculture.

“These are our fish farmers, fish workers and fishers. They are the backbone of Jamaica’s capability of having access to alternate and cheap fish protein,” she noted.

Mrs. Morris Bennett, who was speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (November 21), said the Authority wishes to acknowledge the island’s fishers on this day.

“We want them to know that we understand who they are, what they are about and we want to thank them for their contribution, as we, as a country, eat two to three times more fish than we can produce,” she added.

Mrs. Morris Bennett said the Authority is observing World Fisheries Day under a special theme, as the observance also speaks particularly to having a healthy marine system and sustainable fisheries stock.

“We wanted to emphasise that our theme speaks to ‘Sustainability and Conservation: Fisheries past, present and future’. We want to look at where fisheries is coming from, we want to see where we are now and we want to further improve the ability of fisheries to be a sustainable economic activity, with the development of several things on the horizon,” she said.

Currently, more than 200,000 Jamaicans work in the Fisheries subsector. In 2021, Jamaica’s Aquaculture sector produced approximately 869.2 metric tonnes of fish, valued at US$5.17 million.

The island’s Marine Fisheries Sector produced 10,093 metric tonnes, with a value of US$79.16 million. Meanwhile, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has marked 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, putting the spotlight on the value of the sector to food security.

According to the FAO, globally, small-scale fishers and fish workers account for 90 per cent of the people who work worldwide in capture fisheries value chains. Comprising that percentage is 492 million people who depend on, at least partially, small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods.

Marine catch amounts to 68 per cent of small-scale fisheries output and 32 per cent comes from inland waters.