jamaica-gleaner.com, 28 May 2010
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MOAF) has exercised its rights under World Trade Organisation rules to suspend imports of cheap tilapia from South East Asia.
The ban was implemented in April following concerns of the local veterinary division that the imports have not been meeting sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
Dr Marc Panton, chief technical director in the MOAF, said Tuesday that the action was based on international reports received by his ministry, which was also moving aggressively to reinstate the once-vibrant tilapia sector, which was wiped out by the cheaper imports.
An Aquaculture Fish Monitoring Committee has been created by the ministry for the revival of aquaculture and to calibrate supply and demand, he said. "We were the largest producer of tilapia in the Caribbean but, due to a liberal trade policy, productive capacity was wiped out. We have the capacity to produce and we want to bring it back."
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MOAF) has exercised its rights under World Trade Organisation rules to suspend imports of cheap tilapia from South East Asia.
The ban was implemented in April following concerns of the local veterinary division that the imports have not been meeting sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
Dr Marc Panton, chief technical director in the MOAF, said Tuesday that the action was based on international reports received by his ministry, which was also moving aggressively to reinstate the once-vibrant tilapia sector, which was wiped out by the cheaper imports.
An Aquaculture Fish Monitoring Committee has been created by the ministry for the revival of aquaculture and to calibrate supply and demand, he said. "We were the largest producer of tilapia in the Caribbean but, due to a liberal trade policy, productive capacity was wiped out. We have the capacity to produce and we want to bring it back."
Revealing that commitment for the purchase of 30,000 kilograms monthly had already been received from Burger King and KFC, the technical director said the ministry was in talks with local producers who had asked for the additional commitment that their investments would not be wiped out by another about-face in import policy.
The fast-food sector was previously a strong market for Jamaican tilapia, but lost a big source of supply when Jamaica Broilers Group gave up local markets in favour of exports in the last decade, resulting in a downgrading of fish on several menu boards for a while. The poultry group, however, lost big on fish overseas sales and withdrew from the tilapia export market in 2008.
Development of land fishing, Panton said, would both provide employment and reduce pressure on sea sources of fish, which are currently depleted. As noted by the 2009 Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica, a publication of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), marine fish production was relatively stable, but inland fish declined by 12.6 per cent - leading to an overall decline in fish production of 5.3 per cent.
The overall de-cline was due to increased competition from cheaper imports,as well as reduced consumer demand, reflecting the impact of the downturn in economic activities on consumer spending, the PIOJ said.
At the close of 2009, there were 19,738 fishers and 4,986 registered boats operating from 187 fishing beaches. This compared with 18,250 fishers and 4,936 registered boats operating from 187 fishing beaches at the end of 2008.
But, real value-added fishing is expected improve this year based on programmes which assist farmers in terms of technology, markets, extension services and loan financing. Panton said that tilapia required by Burger King and KFC were fillets of a particular size. The ministry, he stated, would be solving the problem of what to do with the remainder of the fish.
Locally, he added, there was also a strong demand for whole fish, pointing out that the reluctance to consume land fish, because of tradition and taste, was changing. The ministry's Fisheries Division last year launched a nationwide campaign to have all fishermen registered and licensed for planning purposes. It is estimated that more than 30,000 fisherfolk - of whom approximately 89 per cent are unregistered - operate locally.
According to Panton, legislation to ensure the sustainability of the industry being pushed for passage by year end includes the regulation of destructive spear-ground fishing, and changing the size of wire mesh on nets from 1.25 inches to 1.5 inches to allow younger fish to escape.
Compressor diving is also to be regulated with a view to reducing its harmful impact. The changes, the technical director said, will be implemented in consultation with the sector. He added that loss of income to fishermen would be compensated through land fishing, community-based aquaculture projects.
Source: jamaica-gleaner.com
