FACED?with issues relating to the ice-machine and an absence of proper amenities, the fish market at Oistins, Christ Church, cries out for modernisation.
That’s the view of Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Opposition parliamentarians Kerrie Symmonds and Gline Clarke, who toured the popular south coast complex todaywith leader Mia Mottley as part of the weekly Rubbing Shoulders programme.
Symmonds said the tour of the fish markets which also included the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, was of the view that the fishing industry was being allowed to fall into a state of decay, steep decline and “is probably dying.”
The Member of Parliament for St James Central said the industry could only become a premier area for the earning of foreign exchange if Barbados realised the importance of becoming sanitary and phytosanitary compliant as other islands in the region.
“Islands such as St Vincent have reached that stage with a weaker fishing fleet than Barbados and with a smaller fishing industry,” he said.
Symmonds said that as a result Barbados was not in a position to export fish to the European market. (MK)
Full story in tomorrow’s WEEKEND NATION
