Tufton

Agriculture Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, hosted the first in a series of public consultations on the newly developed Fisheries Policy and enabling legislation yesterday at the Jakes Resort in St Elizabeth.

The forum brought together fisher folk from the parishes of Manchester, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

The draft Fisheries Policy was developed in consultation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

One of the primary objectives of the ongoing consultations is to inform stakeholders and other interest groups about the priority programmes the Fisheries Division will be undertaking so as to bring about medium- to long-term sus-tainability within the sector; and to engage their support in the process.

Follow-up consultations, to which members of the public are being invited, will be held in Montego Bay on September 25, and in St Mary and Kingston on October 1 and 15, respectively.