Sea cage project reels in 5,000 pounds of fish

More than 5,000 pounds of red drum fish harvested from a marine cage culture project in Bowden, St Thomas are being hailed by stakeholders as evidence that mariculture could play a major role in the future of Jamaica’s fisheries sector.

The milestone was achieved on October 8 during a large-scale harvest exercise led by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) with support from the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, culminating seven months of work under the pilot project.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NFA, Dr Zahra Oliphant, who witnessed the harvest, said the initiative demonstrates the economic and food security potential of fish farming at sea.

She noted that climate change and other environmental pressures are making fishing increasingly difficult, forcing fishers to travel farther offshore while global fish stocks continue to decline.

“When you think about our fishers going out at sea, having to go farther, spending money on fuel [and] all the inputs that they put in – it’s costly,” Oliphant said.

The acting CEO pointed out that aquaculture and mariculture production have surpassed wild-caught fisheries globally, making the sector an attractive avenue for future growth.

“So, the potential for this [is tremendous]. We’re looking at food security, we’re looking at the economic benefits when our fishers and fish farmers can now look at this as an alternative to regular wild-caught and inland fishing,” she added.

She stressed that the NFA remains committed to supporting traditional fishing activities while encouraging fishers to explore new methods of production.

CEO of B&D Trawling Limited, Roderick Francis, said the company’s purchase of red drum from Jamaica’s first successful marine cage culture harvest marks an important step in evaluating the commercial potential of marine fish farming in local waters.

The project explored the viability of marine cage culture, a system that involves raising fish in sea-based cages. Unlike Jamaica’s established freshwater aquaculture industry, which primarily focuses on tilapia production in ponds, the initiative is aimed at expanding local seafood production, reducing reliance on imported fish, and creating opportunities within a new marine aquaculture industry.

As the first commercial buyer of the harvested red drum, B&D Trawling will play a key role in gauging market acceptance and assessing the species’ commercial potential.

“Jamaica has been farming fish on land for many years, particularly tilapia, but this is a different opportunity. Demonstrating that marine fish can be raised in our own waters opens the door to a potential new industry, creating jobs, and increasing the amount of seafood we can produce locally,” said Francis.