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Off-Shore Fisheries Collaboration for Small Vessels

The St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Marine Resources (DMR) collaborated with fishers to examine the practicality of promoting the off-shore and pelagic fisheries in the Federation. This involved preliminary work in 2017, harvesting Diamondback Squid. Following the successful capture of squid in 2017, the efforts have now shifted towards assessing the use of small open vessels for the harvesting of these resources, and other off-shore resources, to promote a reduction in fishing effort on the near-shore fisheries, while securing and enhancing fishers’ livelihoods.

Mitch Lay, Antiguan fisher and facilitator of the training exercise indicated “This is a great opportunity for fishers in St. Kitts and Nevis to experiment with new techniques so we can all ensure continued fisher livelihood. The equipment used for this training is suitable for small fishing vessels, we have to look out for all fishers.”

Kharim Saddler, Assistant Fisheries Officer at the Department of Marine Resources – “This demonstration included a rig for deep slope snapper fishing and continuing Diamondback Squid Fishing techniques. The Krystal reel proved to be very efficient and versatile. It is particularly suitable for small vessels.”

Director of DMR, Marc Williams – “Continued collaboration in harvesting, value addition and marketing may prove useful in promoting the Diamondback Squid fishery. St. Kitts and Nevis could spearhead a concerted effort to promote this underutilized species for food security and nutrition purposes.”

 

Below are images showing the process for preparing the equipment to be used. Pictured are Mitch Lay-Fisher and Captain  Petulah Huggins – DMR staff;

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DMR @ Career Exhibition with Work, Eat, Play, Manage themed display

The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) was invited  to participate in  the 2018 National College, Career and Health EXPO organised by the Ministry of Labour on Friday 23rd February, 2018.  The DMR’ s display centered around the different uses of the ocean.

WORK – career based choices were showcased through presentations and officers present answering questions about their being employed within the marine field.

EAT – highlighted the benefits of a healthy sea enriched diet. Promoting the Eat It 2 Beat It SKN Lion fish campaign as well as introducing persons to underutilized species such as the Diamond Back Squid.

PLAY – recreational activities associated with the marine environment. Attendees did a “sea /bucket list challenge” checking off which play sports they have engaged in and were offered new and exciting #DiveIn choices for the future.

MANAGE – sustainably using the resources of the marine environment is key to the DMR. This section explored compliance and enforcement mechanisms conducted by the DMR and future work, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Resources Act 2016 legislation, Implementation of the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Plan and the declaration of the St. Kitts and Nevis Marine Management Area.

The Director, Marc Williams expressed ” We are pleased that the Ministry of Labour has created such a forum for persons to be educated about different career options. Within the past year we have received requests to have interested youth visit the DMR to get a sense of what a career within the marine field is about. At the DMR we want to encourage persons to see the ocean as the true resource that it is and take full advantage of it. ”

The DMR also used this opportunity to launch its partnership with the Anjolique Dance Company’s GEF UNDP Small Grant Proposal See Life Sea SKN project- a visual campaign about the marine environment. The display incorporated the use of high impact presentations through imagery and hands on experience. Unfortunately, the display should have incorporate touch tanks into the display however as climate change affects the marine environment , turbidity in the water prevented the collection of the marine species.

Officers at the exhibition included; Marine Management Area (MMA) and Habitat Monitoring Officer ; Tricia Greaux, Fisheries Assistant; Kharim Saddler, Marine Conservation Officers ;Locksley Edwards , Tasia Jones, Ahisha Herbert and Ashadi Duncan,  and Beach Conservation Officers; Luciano Eddy and Sasha Kodi Edwards.

 

 

 

 

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6th National Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting

On 13th February 2017 representatives of the Japanese Government and the Department of Marine Resources held its sixth and final National Joint Coordinating Committee meeting at the Old Road Fisheries Complex as they concluded the 5 year Caribbean Fisheries Co-management Project here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Present were Mitsuhiro Ishida and Minoru Tamura from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Wilmot Alleyne, Kharim Saddler, Hazelmay Richards and Ashadi Duncan represented the Department of Marine Resources. Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) Fishers included; Lester Richards, Franklyn Challenger, Winston Hobson, Darwin Francis, Michael Samuel, Roger Ottley, Richard Dorsette and Earl Freeman.

Mr Alleyne gave the welcome remarks with a brief overview of the FAD Fishery over the past several years and the formation of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism. He stated “one of the goals of the CRFM is to ensure sustainability. After endless discussions 3 recommendations were made, one was to have a co-management approach to fisheries which is where we are today which was implemented in May 2013.” There were 6 OECS countries involved in the Caribbean Fisheries Co-management project namely, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica that explored FAD Fishery.

Mr. Saddler introduced Mr. Kareem Wilkin – Department of Fisheries Nevis, who gave an overview of the activities done within the project period and also the equipment and materials received and distributed among the local FAD fishers such as ropes, swivels, buoys, tents and microphones.

Mr. Tamura gave a brief presentation on Guideline for Fishery Co-management “Facilitating Co-Managed Fisheries in the Caribbean: Good Practices and Guidance from the CARIFICO Experience.” He explained the project’s purpose and target levels which were Country level (developing co-management approaches through pilot project), OECS level (Conducting technical exchange and accumulating lessons learned from pilot project) and Regional level (sharing co-management approaches). Guidelines were done by analyzing information from the countries, workshops and training sessions.

Mr. Saddler and members of the St. Kitts Nevis FAD Fisher Association (SKN FFA) had an open discussion about the way forward in FAD fishery. We have seen that there are several levels of co-management we can reevaluate the collaboration between the DMR and fishers. “Now we have to elaborate on what responsibilities the SKN FFA is willing to accept, however it can change as time goes by but this will be our first priority”, said Mr. Saddler.

“The goal of co-management includes the desire to promote fairness, the sustainability of fishery resources and shared governance” said Mr. Tamura. The overall goal is to balance Economic Development and Resource Management. In the fisheries co-management we set 8 activities which were :

  • Fisher Consultations (ongoing)
  • Organization (established)
  • Trainings (ongoing)
  • User Rules (established)
  • Catch Data (collected)
  • User Fee (delayed)
  • Marketing (ongoing)
  • Maintenance (ongoing)
  • Promote attributes of activities listed above (ongoing)
  • Create a Sub-Regional Network (Fishermen exchange in Grenada)
  • Technical Exchange (Workshop in St. Lucia 2017)

 

 

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Whales Beached in Nevis

On Saturday 10th February, 2018, Nine Short-Finned Pilot Whales beached themselves on Dog Bay and at Garlin Bay at Indian Castle, Nevis.

There were mammoth efforts to save three of the nine whales and transport them to be released back into the ocean. Unfortunately one died while being transported. Therefore, two of the nine Pilot Whales were saved and released into the ocean.

Permanent Secretary Huey Sargeant-Ministry of Fisheries et al. in Nevis, Thema Ward – Physical Planning and Environment, Nevis and Lemuel Pemberton- Nevis Turtle Group were leading the efforts. They were then assisted by a delegation from St. Kitts namely Kharim Saddler-Fisheries Assistant (DMR), Sara Ramirez -St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, Paul Fyre and Kelsey Johnson – ROSS University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Necropsies were performed and samples taken in order to help determine a possible cause of beaching. Of the nine whales; 2 were females, 3 were males and the other sexes unknown. The average length of the whales were 3.6 meters or 11.8 feet.

The Department of Marine would like to extend gratitude to the Indian Castle/Gingerland and surrounding area community members, fishers, students, volunteers, researchers and Government entities such as the St. Kitts Nevis Coast Guard, Department of Agriculture St. Kitts, Physical Planning and Environment Nevis.

 

 

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Plans a sail for Yachting Sector

On November 23, 2017, there was the official launch of the St. Kitts and Nevis Yachting Sector Strategic Plan and the Implementation Plan for the Development of the Yachting Sector, 2017-2022. At the launch, senior ministers of Government such as, the Hon. Lindsay Grant (Minister of Tourism), the Hon. Ian Liburd (Minister of Infrastructure), Mrs. Carlene Henry Morton (PS in the Ministry of Tourism in St. Kitts) and Mr. John Hanley (PS in the ministry of tourism in Nevis) were present.

The St. Kitts and Nevis Yachting Sector Strategic Plan and the Implementation Plan for the Development of the Yachting Sector has a National Yachting Advisory Committee: a 20 member strong working group of public-private -sector stakeholders who have been demonstrating a sincere commitment to realising the expansion of the Yachting sector. The DMR has two representatives serving on this committee namely Kharim Saddler and Tricia Greaux. The yachting sector adds value to our tourism product, helps to drive socio-economic development, enhance livelihoods and contribute to revenue generation for the local economy. Several members of the committee coordinated and managed the launch.

Mrs. Carlene Henry Morton (PS in the ministry of Tourism in St. Kitts) spoke highly about the launch. She highlighted the many benefits the country would receive such as increased recognition and development.  She also outlined the objective of the advisory committee, “The National Yachting Advisory Committee, with its mandate to service and oversee the yachting sector in St Kitts and Nevis and to review and advise the Minister on all matters pertaining to the development of the yachting sector, will facilitate this process and move it forward. Of course on this journey we will have our road maps, these critical documents that we are here to launch today will help us to chart that course.”

 

The Hon. Lindsay Grant also expressed similar notions as Mrs. Carlene Henry Morton. Mr. Grant expressed that it was a proud moment for him as a Kittitian and as the Minister of Tourism. He also proceeded to thank the private and public stakeholders who helped to reach the milestone. Grant added that when the medium- to long- term benefits of the establishment of marinas such as Christophe Harbour, berthing facilities and boat yards are considered, they translate into economic spin-offs that pay dividends for local entrepreneurs and ancillary businesses.

 

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