Empower Jamaican Fishermen to Restore Marine-Life

The fishermen are continuing to fish and sell their catch. Covid 19 has not affected sales too much as unfortunately the catches are small. with time and the success of the sanctuary hopefully this will change and they will be catching bigger fish. The government has indicated that they would like to support the fishermen in the form of cheaper fuel to facilitate and improve their ability to go further out to sea to catch pelagic fish. These fish would are larger, and go for a higher price, thus they would positively improve their income. However, it remains to be seen if any funds are actually allocated.

The WRFS is also considering implimenting a fish aggregating device (FAD), which would require cooperation amongst the fishermen and restraint to not catch the small fish attracted to the FAD.

Along with the re-construction of a roof in the fishing village into zinc, the WRFS office is almost finished construction. The office will enable the WRFS to have a seperate location, although nearby from the fishermen's village, for outreach, and hosting meetings/ workshops, such as the Monday sanctuary meetings, and literacy classes.

COVID update: The pressure on the sanctuary has been huge from both the financial and the human aspect. Financially we have less funds as most funding comes from the hotels but they have no business so support of the sanctuary has decreased. This in turn means fewer hours of warden patrol of the protected area. Meanwhile there are more persons fishing in the sanctuary as lots of people are out of work so have the time to fish, or are just hungry.

Protection of the juvenile fish is the biggest and most beneficial aspect to improve the catch. It is imperative that the WRFS can continue these patrols.

The WRFS has out planted more than 500 Acropora cervicornis (staghorn coral) and have relocated, and continuing to seed, Nursery 1. The bamboo coral tree continues to be a success, being the only tree not to be destroyed when we had some increment weather. The 3 young scuba divers we trained are getting along well, and one is looking to do further scuba training. 

The WRFS is relocating some corals in an area where a dock has been approved. We are glad to be involved in this to ensure the coral are properly cared for.  

The sanctuaries have been working together to reach out to the government as one voice to establish proper funding. Currently there is no direct funding, but the hope is that the importance to both the fishing industry and the tourism sectors will be recognized, and in turn funds allocated on an ongoing basis to ensure the future of the sanctuaries through marine conservation.