Fish is an important part of the human diet, particularly in the case of Barbados where chronic non-communicable diseases are rampant.
Imports of fish were valued at $23.8 million in 2010.
This figure seems to be high, considering that we are surrounded by the sea. Of course, the imports include fish such as salmon, sole, halibut and others not found in tropical waters, but it also includes about $5.3 million in dolphin, kingfish and flying fish which are found in our waters.
A recent study by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) showed that the fishing industry here was worth more than $52 million. Apart from the commercial fishing industry, there is sports fishing which provides recreation for visitors and locals as well as fish for consumption.
Fish processing has also made significant progress over the years. About 99 per cent of the processing is primary, with the fish being cleaned, filleted and packaged.
However, one company has gone a step further to produce secondary products such as fish burgers and fingers, breaded and smoked fish and they have just introduced a fish breakfast sausage.
This is certainly an area which needs encouragement as well as less cumbersome incentive arrangements if it is to develop further.
According to an FAO report (2005) the estimated total annual landings for the past 30 years fluctuated between 3 000 and 5 000 tonnes. It is estimated that 57 per cent of the total landings were flying fish, which are highly seasonal, with 94 per cent being landed between December and June.
Some fish species are said to be overfished, while others are said to be under exploited.
The questions we must ask are “have we effectively exploited the available marine resources”? And if not “what can be done to increase our fish landings”?
We must bear in mind that the Government of Barbados, in its 1988-93 Development Plan listed increasing the output of high quality fish in order to allow for self-sufficiency.
It is plain to see that we are still way off target almost two decades later.
Of course, over the years, there has been some positive development with changes in vessel design to range further, stay at sea longer and catch more of the pelagic species, and the introduction of longliners and the increased number of iceboats has helped to make fishing slightly less seasonal.
I spoke to an experienced person in the industry who felt that we did not need to increase either the size or number of vessels we have currently, but that the on-shore infrastructure needed to be improved so that the turnaround time for vessels was reduced, and the handling of fish and the system in fish markets needed to be drastically improved.
Then, there is also the much discussed but elusive fishing agreement with Trinidad.
What is the position with this?
Although there has been a lot of talk about aquaculture, there has been little sustained action. Aquaculture is described as the farming under controlled conditions, of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants.
A few small aquaculture operations exist, but there needs to be further investment and investigation in this area.
Fresh water fish such as tilapia, imported from the Far East through the United States are often seen in supermarkets. Why aren’t we exploiting this market more aggressively?
There is also room for aquaponics which integrates fish farming and crop farming. The waste from the fish provides fertilizer for the crop and the crop cleans the water for use by the fish. Research
has shown that crop yields using this system are much higher than those from field grown crops.
Mariculture refers to aquaculture practised in marine environments. This was also tried some years ago with dolphin and red drum on the west coast, but was later discontinued for a variety of reasons, including less than optimal technology used at the time. It is felt by one knowledgeable in the industry that red drum farming could be successful if deeper waters were used.
In summary, the stakeholders in the fishing industry need to come together to look at ways in which the industry can be made more efficient so that Barbados can become more self-sufficient in fish.