Annual Agriculture Review 2008 - Government of Grenada

Performance of the Fisheries Subsector and Assessment and Impact of Supporting Ministerial Division
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and international institutions on matters
of fisheries development, the promotion
of co-management and community based
management among stakeholders and
provision of services, including technical
support to enhance the efficiency within
the sector.
In 2008, the Division identified its
priority areas for 2008 as; infrastructural
development, training, establishment of a
fishery communication network, support
strategies for marine protected areas, focus
on fisheries biology, the welfare of fishermen,
adherence to ICCAT Convention,
focus on building and strengthening
fisher organisations, collaboration with
the Regional Corporation in Fisheries,
enhancement of quality assurance, review
of legislation and support to investment
in the industry. Accomplishment in some
of the priority areas resulted in a gradual
increase in fish production for the year.
Infrastructural projects implemented,
specifically, the communication network
and the installation of the Waltham
Fish Centre had a significant impact on
production in 2008. The installment
of communication network permitted
fishermen to conduct fishing activities up
to 100 or 120 miles out at sea. This major
improvement created confidence among
fishermen since any problems encountered
or information required ashore can be
easily communicated. Fishermen were
able to work further at sea spending longer
periods. The installation of a new cold
room facility at Waltham made possible for
the community to move from the one or
two boats to the most number of boats in
the Parish of St. Mark. Seventy-five (75%)
of the fish from the parish comes from the
Waltham community.
There are opportunities to further increase
the total fish production from the pelagic
fishery to a maximum sustainable yield
through expansion of the pelagic fleet
that utilizes the appropriate technology.
However, the management of demersal and
crustacean fisheries is critical since they are
more susceptible to depletion than large
pelagic. More management measures should
be employed to ensure the sustenance of
these residential stocks.
In 2008, the Division employed technology
such as close seasons, biological and
physiological restrictions in terms of size,
of spawning, molting or other growth
signals. Fishermen were prohibited by
law to catch lobsters that were premature
or lobsters with eggs in order to facilitate
stock replenishment. The Division has
been working persistently to develop
more management strategies to protect
crustacean species. In collaboration with
the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean
States-Environmental and Sustainable
Development Unit (OECS-ESDU) and
other local stakeholders, the Fisheries
Division has been preparing for the
implementation of the Management Plan
for Sandy Island and Oyster Bed Marine
Protected Area Project.
The main challenge in the fisheries industry
is marketing. Some cold storage facilities,
over the period under review, were filled to
capacity. However, the marketing is also
reliant on another critical challenge, that
is, quality control and quality assurance; a
post harvesting technology. It is imperative
that quality is considered through all stages
of production, including at the point of
harvesting since it would be useless to
enforce quality at the latter stages. Training
in this area is therefore critical. It was found
that the younger generation of fishermen
generally fails to adhere to quality
standards. In order for the industry to be
more economically viable to stakeholders,
quality control must be taken seriously.
Commitment on the part of all stakeholders
is needed to ensure and maintain quality
assurance.
Operational problems that existed in
the provision of fishery services for the
past year includes: inadequate access to
transportation; budgetary constraints,
inadequate information system to provide
biological data on fisheries and lack of
training opportunities. The Division
was not assigned a vehicle which is a
necessity when dealing with regulations
enforcements. Often there were reports of
illegal activities, however, no transportation
was available to facilitate officers in visiting
such eventualities.
Human Resource Capacity
The Fisheries Division is subdivided into
Fisheries Biology, Fisheries Quality and
Fisheries Extension or Communication.
The Division operates in the four agriculture
districts in Grenada and one in Carriacou.
Sixteen (16) specialized staff and twentyseven
(27) operational staff were employed
at the various districts.
The Division has experienced and trained
staff, however, the complement of staff
was inadequate to satisfy the demands of
the work programme. Human Resource
Development, specifically recruitment
and training of staff to provide continuity
with the work programme became a major
concern. There has been an urgent need for
a Data Management Officer since 2003
and to date that vacant post has not been
filled, which resulted in severe constraint in
providing data and information to facilitate
planning and management. There are only
four (4) Extension Officers, three (3) in
Grenada and one for Carriacou and Petit
Martinique which negatively affected the
productivity and efficiency of officers. The
ratio of Extension Officers to fishermen
is therefore extremely high; 4 to 2800
fishermen.
Within the past ten years, no officer has
attended any structured short-term or
long-term training. There is an apparent
lack of such opportunities available, not
only in Grenada, but throughout the
OECS. Few officers participated in an
exchange programme on Fish Culture and
Fish Development in China. There has also
been a lack of a continuous system for staff
assessment and upgrading which may also
influence productivity negatively.
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