BLUEFIELDS, Westmoreland — Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Dr Christopher Tufton on Wednesday called for an end to the exploitation of the island’s fishing resources, as he signed letters of intent with six Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) for the management of the island’s fish sanctuaries.

“If the fishing industry is to be sustained, then the framework by which we have continued to exploit the resources of the sea must be re-examined,” said Tufton, during the signing ceremony held at the Belmont Fishing Beach in Westmoreland.

With an estimated 200,000 fishers and their dependents relying on the industry as their sole means of economic survival, Tufton said, the agriculture ministry is moving to put measures in place to halt the decline in the quality of the fishery resources and the destruction of their natural habitat.

The establishment of the fish sanctuaries, he noted, is aimed at protecting the fishing sector and preserving the livelihood of the country’s fisher folk.

Under the agreement, the NGOs will be responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance activities, while the Government will provide funding to assist with expenses.

“This kind of partnership is in keeping with the ministry’s drive to engage the private sector in partnering with the Government in its effort to achieve sustainability throughout the agricultural sector,” the agriculture and fisheries minister argued.

The NGOs signing were the Nature Conservancy (Pedro Bank); the Negril Environmental Protection Trust (Orange Bay, Hanover); Bluefields Bay Fishermen’s Friendly Society (Bluefields Bay, Westmoreland); the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, which would be working with three sanctuaries (Galleon Harbour & Three-bays (Old Harbour ) and Salt Harbour in Clarendon; and Montego Bay Marine Park Trust (Montego Bay Sanctuary).

Opposition spokesman on Agriculture Roger Clarke, in bring greetings at the function also commended the NGOs for their involvement, noting that while enforcement was important, the success of the sanctuaries would only be achieved through stakeholders’ ‘buy-in.’

Fish sanctuaries are nofishing zones reserved for fish to spawn, rear young or rest. No fishing of any kind is permitted in the sanctuary. Just over a year ago Cabinet approved the establishment of eight such sanctuaries across the island, to complement the existing two at Bogue Island Lagoon in Montego Bay, St James, and Bowden Inner Harbour in St Thomas.