Plans are underway to boost the Tilapia fish industry by training farmers at the Clarendon-based HEART/NSTA Trust Ebony Park Academy and providing free fingerlings.

According to Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, the Ministry is putting resources in the Academy to re-establish their fishponds, and “use Ebony Park as a base for the next generation of fish farmers”.

“If you are going to build out the industry, you have to have a strong training component, and what we want to do is have people going to Ebony Park to study fish farming, to learn the new methodologies and the new technology that we will bring, to develop the fish stocks that are used to our conditions,” the Minister said.

He was addressing the recent ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a hatchery in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

The Minister noted that the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) has invested “significant sums” in the expansion of the aquaculture sector, and if persons prepare their fish ponds, the Ministry will supply, free of cost, fingerlings for up to one acre to each farmer.

“We are helping people to start their journey in aquaculture for food security, and because there are significant returns, you can make real money, so get trained, and get involved in aquaculture,” the Minister encouraged.

He pointed out that in the current budget for the Ministry, there is more money for the sector, and emphasis will be placed on expanding fisheries and implementing a climate-resilient project.

Green noted that the project also involves the training of fishers to be able to “go farther out and use longline technology to get better catch, and better returns on their investments,” adding that funds have been allocated for fish sanctuaries.

– JIS