$52m price tag on fishing

Creator: Atwell Carlos

Headline: $52m price tag on fishing

BARBADOS' FISH INDUSTRY has been calculated to be worth more than $52 million.

Director of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), Robin Mahon, said once factors such as shops and hotels were taken into consideration, the value skyrocketed.

"We have found a landed value [the cost value of fish caught] of $14.5 million, but when you look at all the other factors . . . . And this is just a preliminary assessment," he said.

Mahon was speaking during a break of a CERMES MarGov (Maritime Governance) project communications workshop yesterday at the Fisheries Division, Princess Alice Highway, The City.

This assessment is the first part of a study on the value of Barbados' fisheries by CERMES in collaboration with the Environmental Special Projects Unit of the Ministry of Energy and the Environment and the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

"This was started several years ago and was completed last year but it still needs further work. Still, it points towards an industry which is more valuable than previously thought.

Mahon said the preliminary assessment did not take things like boat building into account, adding the ministry was working on reef fishery which was not being properly managed. (CA)