Peter Espeut INTERNATIONAL FISHERMEN'S Day has come and gone and not a word from anyone in Jamaica! The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations declares June 29 each year (the Feast of St. Peter the Fisherman) as International Fishermen's Day. Many Caribbean countries and territories observe it and give due recognition to their fishers, who risk their lives going to sea in small open boats. In some Caribbean countries, the week surrounding the day is observed as Fisherman's Week, and exhibitions and displays, sports and games, take place which 'big up' the fishing community.
We do not do this in Jamaica. We do not give recognition to the men and women involved in the capture and sale of fish, probably because they are totally in the informal sector and are black and poor. Despite their contribution to food security, fisherfolk are positioned quite low on the scale of social status, and are largely ignored by the wider society.
Indeed, fishing has been treated as a sump for the unemployed, absorbing unskilled persons who cannot find employment elsewhere. The Jamaican fishery is open to everyone as if resources are unlimited; very few regulations exist, and there has been no enforcement of the few laws we have. For example, provision for the creation of fish sanctuaries has been sparsely used; even now there is no minimum fishpot mesh size stipulated in law. Although one needs a licence to fish, the licence is free (except to fish on the Pedro Cays which costs ten Jamaican cents per year) and is freely available. The number of fishers has been allowed to rise so that income per fisher has declined drastically. The Jamaican government's lax approach to fisheries has created poverty among fisherfolk!
BREEDING STOCK
So fishers have to fish harder, using smaller mesh in nets and traps, which now catches the breeding stock and those too young to breed; and so there are less fish hatched every generation; and Jamaica's total catch has sharply declined over the last twenty years, despite the fact that our fishers are going further out to sea. The Jamaican government's lax approach to fisheries forces over-exploitation of the resources. Consultants have revealed that were Jamaica's fisheries resources properly managed, the catch of fish would triple! In concrete terms, overfishing means that we are catching only one-third of our potential. And so we continue to import hundreds of millions of dollars of fish annually using scarce foreign exchange to replace what we could be catching ourselves! And reducing poverty to boot!
What our fishery laws allow is simply not sustainable. CARICOM has already determined that Jamaica has the most overfished waters in the Caribbean. This should set off warning bells at the Ministry of Agriculture (bearing in mind the collapse of the Canadian cod fishery, which has not yet recovered after ten years of a fishing moratorium), but the government seems only interested in the high-value lobster and conch resources (where big business is involved), and has ignored the finfish sector, because small-scale artisanal fishers are mostly poor and black.
In addition to the financial risk, the fishing profession involves risk to life and limb; each year several fishers pay the ultimate price. You would think that being out in a small boat with a small engine would compel fishers to stock up on safety equipment like lifejackets and signal flares - not just because it is the law, but because it is common sense and in their own self-interest; but having these gear is the exception rather than the rule. And the government does not enforce these safety laws; despite the too-frequent deaths at sea. They are only a few poor black people, after all!
And then they allow persons to dive for fish, conch and lobster using SCUBA or hooka equipment (sometimes make-shift) with absolutely no training at all! Every year numbers of fishers are crippled for life after getting "the bends"; you can visit them in Rocky Point in Clarendon and almost every south coast fishing beach. And there are rumours of deaths at sea and bodies being dumped. But then the lives of these poor black people are expendable. There are plenty more willing to step forward to replace them. We have to keep our lobster and conch exports up!
ARTISANAL FISHERS
So the corner of the artisanal fishers looks dark, which is both problem and opportunity. It is an opportunity because if fishers could only get their act together, they could solve most of their problems themselves!
This is what is happening in the Portland Bight area of St. Catherine and Clarendon. With the help of an NGO, the fishers of Hellshire and Old Harbour Bay in St. Catherine, and Welcome Beach, Mitchell Town, Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon have joined with relevant government agencies to form the Portland Bight Fisheries Management Council (PBFMC). Last Sunday - Fisherman's Day - was their eighth anniversary; they have had 74 meetings since June 1995, and four symposia on fisheries management.
And the record of their achievements is substantial. They began by reviewing all existing fisheries legislation and found them wanting, so they drafted a suite of regulations they felt would restore and increase fish stocks. They have recommended fees for permits to fish, and penalties for breaches of the regulations. They have identified seven fish sanctuary areas; noted fisheries scientist Karl Aiken has confirmed that their choices are good and will allow fish stocks to replenish.
About fifty Portland Bight fishers have been appointed Honorary Game Wardens and Fisheries Inspectors by the Governor-General under the Wildlife Protection Act and the Fishing Industry Act. They receive training annually, and are responsible for enforcing existing laws. They are respected by their peers, especially since they have a 100 per cent conviction rate so far in court! These fishers are not prepared just to complain; they are taking action to protect the marine resources which is the source of their livelihood!
For a change let us give respect and pay tribute to Jamaican fisherfolk - men and women - who are trying to make their industry work. Let us hope that others will support them in their efforts to improve their lot and the patrimony that Jamaica will bequeath to those yet unborn.
Peter Espeut is a Sociologist and Executive Director of an Environment and Development NGO.
