Bridging the fishing gap

Headline:Bridging the fishing gap

THE BARBADOS FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE (FAC) is trying to pave the way as a link between people in the fishing industry and Minister of Agriculture Haynesley Benn.

The committee has launched a project that is taking it into fishing communities to hear fisherfolk's ideas and concerns.

This initiative is being funded by a $17 500 grant provided by the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus through its four-year Marine Resource Governance in the Eastern Caribbean (MarGov) Project.

The FAC project started last Tuesday with a meeting between the committee members and the fishing community in Consett Bay, St John. There are meetings planned for Six Men's Bay, St Peter, on Tuesday; Bridgetown, on September 30; and Oistins, on October 7.

Speaking at the recent handover of the first tranche of funds, MarGov project manager and CERMES senior lecturer Dr Patrick McConney said this partnership with the FAC was part of the MarGov strategy to encourage strong networks between fisheries stakeholders that facilitated proactive planning for sustainable development and produced sustainable responses to issues that threaten the sector.

Along with providing the funds, the MarGov Project will also assist the FAC in strengthening its communication and organisational capacity, with support from MarGov team members, plus access to MarGov research on networks and governance.