KINGSTON, Jamaica – With the construction of the $574-million tilapia hatchery, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is looking to further boost the aquaculture sector with the production of freshwater prawns and the establishment of an ornamental fish farming project.

This was disclosed by Portfolio Minister, Floyd Green, during this week’s post-Cabinet press conference at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

Green, who indicated that he visited the tilapia hatchery on February 12, also advised that a prawn hatchery has also been built and a pilot project launched.

“It was very interesting to see. We will be able to roll out, probably, another six months, where we’ll be able to supply prawn to our market,” he said.

The minister shared that there have been challenges with the supply of prawns to the market, an issue the pilot project is aimed at eliminating.

“St Elizabeth has the best peppered shrimp in the world, in a place called Middle Quarters, and they have had real challenges getting a consistent supply. So we are going to be ramping up the supply, and we do believe we will have people who will go into the area of producing freshwater prawn,” he said.

Meanwhile, Green said establishing an ornamental fish industry in Jamaica provides the opportunity to tap into the demand that exists in North America.

He added, however, that one of the challenges that have hindered ornamental fish farmers from making this move in the past is the absence of an export clearinghouse.

“We have embarked on an ornamental fish farming project, which does include training, infrastructure support and market access. But more importantly, we are about 90 per cent complete in developing an export clearinghouse facility at the Aquaculture Division. We’re set to open this in the next quarter. This will support the growth of ornamental fish farming export,” Green said.

He told reporters that the ministry is working closely with the Jamaica Ornamental Fish Farmers Association to finalise preparation of the export clearinghouse and to ensure farmers are fully equipped to take advantage of the opportunity.

“We will have a special focus on youth, women and at-risk communities, to help build out our ornamental fishing sector so that they can take advantage of our near-shore market,” Green said.

The state-of-the-art hatchery is being constructed in Twickenham Park, St Catherine, with support from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and World Bank.

– JIS