KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is working to secure the future of Jamaica’s fisheries sector through increased focus on licensing and registration, according to principal director for the Fisheries Compliance, Licensing and Statistics Division, Dr Zahra Oliphant.

Oliphant said the new department is strategically positioned to ensure that there is compliance with the Fisheries Act, 2018.

“The NFA is mandated by law to sustainably manage and develop our fisheries waters. Through this Division, there is a focus on licensing, we have onsite licensing sessions twice per month and this serves the dual purpose of educating our fishers on the Act and ensuring that we get into their space to get them registered and licensed in the industry,” Dr Oliphant explained.

A licence is needed for both the individual and vessel if the intention is to fish in Jamaican waters unless fishing with a single line from a seashore or a riverbank.

Since the establishment of the Division, the NFA has trained the first batch of compliance officers, who now form the enforcement arm of the NFA.

“One of the important things when it comes to this sector, aside from education, is the great need for enforcement. The enforcement arm of the NFA [including] extension officers from the capture fisheries division, becomes the face of the NFA on the ground,” she said.

The NFA also works with other government agencies to facilitate enforcement.

“When persons do illegal activities, we do joint enforcement with the marine police and the coast guard. The fines in our law are prohibitive and we have fines that go up to $3 million, and the custodial sentence goes up to two years,” Dr Oliphant explained.

Another critical aspect of the Fisheries Compliance, Licensing and Statistics Division’s work is the use of data to drive decision-making.

This is managed by the Statistics and Data Management Branch within the division.

The NFA has been collecting and applying statistics to guide interventions geared towards promoting the sector’s sustainability.

The public can gain access to this data through the Authority’s Quarterly Statistics Report.

“We have launched our Quarterly Statistics Report Volume One, Issue One, which is now available on the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries website. Through this report, the statistics on the sector are reported,” she said.

In addition, the NFA, through this new division, aims to capture the fisheries and aquaculture sub-sectors contribution to food security.

“As the world moves towards a state where persons are projecting that by 2050, we may not even have fish in our waters, We ask: ‘what is the solution?’; ‘how can we counter that?’” Dr Oliphant said.

“That’s why aquaculture is so important. Increasing fry and fish production through aquaculture is an avenue to ensure that there is nutritional security in the country,” she added.

She further stated that the NFA is “100 per cent on board with charting this course in the sector in Jamaica, so that we can become a regional and global example of how things are done in an effective way”.

Meanwhile, the NFA is set to launch its new online licensing and registration system in December. It is anticipated that the registration process will be made easier for applicants.

The NFA will also be visiting communities islandwide to ensure fishers are regularised.

“The matter of illegal unreported and unregulated fishing is one that is affecting us here in Jamaica, and so we have a responsibility to ensure that… all our participants are registered according to the law,” Dr Oliphant stated.

– JIS