National Report of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

Hyrone Johnson
Fisheries Division
Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries
Kingstown
Tel: 784 456 2738
email: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Location

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a small archipelagic state situated in the southern Caribbean. The island is located south of Saint Lucia north of Grenada and west of Barbados. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is of a volcanic nature stretching for 18 km from east to west, and 29.6 km from north to south with a total land area of 345 km². Its coastal shelf is 7 800 km², and the coastline of its entire islands total 84 km. It has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 27 533 km².

Saint Vincent, the largest island, is termed the mainland. The national capital Kingstown is located on the Southwest coast of Saint Vincent and is the most prominent fishing community in the state. The Grenadines consist of thirty-two (32) small islands and cays of which seven are relatively large and inhabited, namely Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Myreau, Union Island, Petit Saint Vincent and Palm Island.

The country has a population of approximately 115 339 with a population density of 299 persons/km² (July 1998 statistics). The capital Kingstown has a population of approximately 27 000. The average life expectancy is 71 years.

Contribution to the GDP

The Contribution of the fishing industry to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1990 - 1995 ranged from 1.68% - 1.90%. The GDP contribution of the fishing industry is dependent not only on earnings from fish landings, but also on the performance of other sector in the economy.

Present Status of the Fisheries

The fishing industry in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is predominantly small scale and artisanal, employing traditional gears, methods and vessels. The majority of fishing vessels is open and powered by outboard engines. These vessels exploit both the oceanic and inshore pelagics as well as the shelf and deep-slope demersals. Most fishers are daily operators, going out to sea in the morning and returning to land in the late afternoon or evening.

Fish landings in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines account for an estimated 2.5 million pounds of fish annually, generating an estimated $EC 7 million. The small inshore pelagic species, which include primarily robin (Decapturus macarellus), jacks (Selar crumenophthalmus), dodger (Decapturus punctatus) and spratt (Harengula pensacola) account for approximately 45% of the total fish landings. The offshore pelagic species account for 25%, and demersal species account for 20%; shellfish and ‘others’ account for the remaining 10% of the total landings (see also Table 1).

Table 1: Estimates of landings and values of fish landed inSaint Vincent and the Grenadines (Source: Fisheries Division, SVG)

The average annual fish export amounts to an estimated 390 000 lbs., valued at approximately $EC 2 million dollars. Tuna and lobster account for more than 75% of fish exports.

Table 2: Estimates of fish and fish products exported fromSaint Vincent and the Grenadines (Source: Fisheries Division, SVG)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines import approximately 660 000 lbs of fish and fish products, valued at approximately $EC 2.7 million dollars, annually.

Policy

The policy framework for the fisheries sector is the expansion of fish production on a sustainable basis to provide a key source of protein for the local population at a competitive price. In support the increased production of fish, the Fisheries Division has elaborated its mission as: “To effectively manage and develop the fisheries sector, in consultation with all stake-holders and within the context of economic diversification, through the sustainable utilisation of available aquatic resources, by research, technology transfer and training, in order to optimise the sector contribution to the national economy”.

Legislation

The Fisheries Division is responsible for the overall management and development of the fisheries sector. The Division has the following pieces of legislation to assist in its task:

• The Fisheries Act (1986) and Regulation (1987), which form part of the OECS harmonized legislation, covers: fisheries access agreements, local and foreign fishing licensing, fish processing establishments, fisheries research, fisheries enforcement and the registration of fishing vessels. The legislation also make provision for conservation measures such as prohibiting the use of any explosive, poison or other noxious substance for the purpose of killing, stunning, disabling, or catching fish; closed seasons, gear restrictions, creation of marine reserves.

The Maritime areas Act (1982) - Establishes the maritime areas of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, also called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Other relevant legislation include the following:

• The Town and Country Planning Act (1992) - Coastal Zone Management

• The Forestry Act (1945) - Mangrove Protection

• The Mustique Conservation Act (1989): Management of the Conservation areas on and around Mustique

• The Central Water and Sewage Authority Act (1978) - Control of land-based Pollution; and

• The Public Health Act (1977) - Waste Management

DESCRIPTION OF THE FISHERY

Vessels and fishers

There are approximately 2,500 full and part-time fishers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, however, there are approximately 1550fishers estimated from the Licensing and Registration System (LRS) Fish vendors, traders. Processors account for an additional 500 persons.

Information gathered from the LRS indicates that there are over 600 vessels operating at various landing sites in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is estimated that approximately 90 % of those fishing vessels are currently registered. ‘Pirogues, bow & stern and double-enders’ dominate the fishing fleet. Most of these vessels are below 32 ft in length and are constructed mainly from wood and fibreglass.

Table 3: Number of Vessels by Size Class in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

DESCRIPTION OF VESSELS THAT TARGET THE LARGE PELAGICS

Flat Transoms boats

Flat transomed boats, commonly called ‘bow and stern’ boats or dories are open boats 11 - 27 ft in length with a beam of 3 - 7 ft. They are constructed from wood or marine plywood. The wood or plywood, in many cases, are covered by epoxy or fibreglass. Flat transomed boats have a pointed bow and flat stern or transom and are often powered by one or two outboard gasoline engines ranging from 14 - 115 horsepower. A crew of three operates most of these boats.

Pirogues

Pirogues are also open boats with a pointed bow and flat transom, however, the bow is much higher than the flat transomed boats and they tend to be slightly larger, ranging from 19 - 30 ft in length, with a beam of 4 - 10 ft. They are constructed from fibreglass and powered by one or two outboard gasoline engines ranging from 40 - 75 horsepower. They are mainly used for the off shore pelagic fishing and carry a crew of three - a captain and two fishers.

Canoes

Canoes are hallowed-out tree trunks. Planks are added along the sides to raise the running board above the waves. These canoes are usually 22 - 25 ft in length with beams of 5 - 6 ft and are used for fishing demersal and the small inshore pelagic species. They are usually outfitted with outboard gasoline engines with horsepower ranging from 25 - 65 HP.

Longliners

Longliners are powered by inboard marine diesel engines ranging from 90 - 475 HP, and are outfitted with modern navigational and fishing equipment. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, these vessels range from 34.7ft - 48.5 ft in length, with beams ranging from 9.7 to 15.9 ft. The main type of longliner is a Yanmar chine type made of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) powered by inboard diesel engines ranging from 90 - 190 HP. These vessels are between 34.7 ft and 42 ft in length with beams of 9 to 11 ft. They are and designed to operate up to 150 nautical miles from the islands for 3 to 5 days. These multi-purpose vessels are used primarily for tuna longline fishing, but may also be utilised for trolling, and bottom longline fishing. In most cases, they carry a crew of 4 to 5 persons. The other longliners used are standard American built longline vessels.

Launches

Launches include cabin cruisers and Boston whalers, constructed from fibreglass and range in length from 16 to 34 ft, with beams from 5 to 10 ft. They are powered either by outboard engines ranging from 55 to 500 HP or inboard engines up to 600 HP. These vessels are generally imported and are used primarily used for recreational fishing. They are sometimes converted for commercial fishing through reduction of the engine power and gear modification.

Others vessels

Sloops are decked vessels constructed from wood and powered by inboard engines and sails. These large boats can travel long distances, however, they are operated primarily on the Grenadines shelf 3 - 5 miles from shore.

Fishing gears use in the offshore pelagic fishery

A significant number of traditional gears are utilised in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. These include trolling lines, and surface longline. In many cases the trolling lines as well as surface longline is the standard gear used by on a typical fishing vessel.

Fishing areas

Fishers in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines utilise the fishing area within the EEZ. The small coastal pelagic and reef fish species are targeted close on the island shelf, while the larger pelagic species can be found in deeper waters.

Types of fishery

The distinctions between the types of fishery in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are not always clear. The same gears and vessels are sometimes used in more than one fishery. However table 4 is presented merely to distinguish the different types of fishery.

Table 4: Grouping and description of the types of Fishery inSaint Vincent

FAD DEVELOPMENT IN ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not have a long history of FAD development. In December of 1997 one bamboo FAD was introduce and deployed after consultation with fishers. It was intended that with their acceptance, this would create the possibilities to deploy more if its performance was also documented. The construction was influenced mainly by a Japanese design, but most of the materials were derived locally or recycled.

Construction of bamboo FAD

Raft

The FAD was essentially a raft which was triangular in shape and made from locally available bamboo logs. This shape made the raft more resistant to strong current and high waves, making it more stable at sea, in comparison to a rectangular shape raft. The selected bamboo was mature and straight. The bamboo was cut such that the thicker end has a knot about 12 centimetres from the end. Each raft consisted of 13 bamboo logs.

To assemble, two bamboo logs were laid on the ground about six meters apart to be use as platform for the raft construction. The other bamboo logs were then laid out vertically from the platform. Two pieces of cut wood 1.5 meters long were used as cross beams for sandwiching the bamboo logs.

Two pairs of holes were drilled at each end of the wood to facilitate the insertion of stainless steel rods to hold the cut wood together over bamboo logs. At the same time, pieces of used vehicle tyre were placed over the two pieces of wood and between the centre of the bamboo logs to serve as the anchor attachments. The stainless steel rods 23 cm long were then inserted in the holes bored in the wood and then tighten using washers and nuts at each end.

Another crossbeam was placed about 2 meters from the first one. Additional pieces cut-tyre for the habong (attraction) rope attachment were placed over this cross beam and between the bamboo logs. The smaller ends of the bamboo logs were then bundle together and more cut-tyre was placed over the bundled logs and tied together by tetron rope. Tetron rope was also used for tying each bamboo to the crossbeams.

A marker-pole was attached to the crossbeam and tied to the corners of the raft using tetron rope. For easy visual location a solar navigational light, a flag and a radar reflector were used. The other component items that were assembled included the anchor line, habong, suspension weight and anchors.

Mooring rope

The mooring rope was 125 meters (or 2.5 times the water depth). Each end of the mooring rope was reinforced up to one (1) meter at the top and three (3) meters at the bottom with strips of rubber wrapped around it for protection purposes. Four (4) synthetic, round floats were attached to the mooring line to act as suspension to the raft.

Habong (attraction device)

Five (5) pieces of old nets, at 1.5 meters each was attached to the habong rope at an interval of two (2) meters. Each ends of the habong rope that was used for tying was wrapped with cut strips of rubber around it for protection purposes. The total length of the habong rope was ten (10) meters.

Anchors

Eighteen sandbags of approximately 50 kilograms of sand each were used, making a total of 900 kilograms in the air and 450 kilograms in water. A common shear anchor of approximately 20 kilograms, in air, was also used to help to keep the raft in place, during deployment; this is useful in cases where the anchor sandbags might get damage from corals during setting or where drag by current is encountered.

Suspension weight

A five (5) in air lead weight was attached to the habong rope to keep the rope submerge. A piece of sixteen (16) mm chain 40 cm long and a piece of cut corrugated steel 50 mm, 23 cm long were attached to the anchor rope to keep the rope submerge during weak current and low tide.

Deployment of bamboo FAD

The first bamboo FAD was deployed on the morning of Friday 19^th December 1997. The FAD was deployed at latitude 12º 57’ 45” and longitude 61º 03’ 15”, approximately 5 nautical miles east of Battowia, at a depth of 50 meters.

The shelf east of Battowia extends for about five (5) nautical miles at a relatively constant depth of 50 meters, and drops off steeply after this point. The current in this area generally moves towards land going from east to west. If the anchor should drag then the fad should theoretically move towards land in the same depth of water. The FAD was placed in this shallow area for several reasons. Firstly, being in shallow water where the depth is relatively constant, the current effect on the fad would not be as great as if it was anchored in deeper waters. Another important reason is that although this area is relatively shallow it is a prime fishing area for trollers.

This area is a rich fishing ground and some species of migratory fish is almost always present. This was intended to reduce the amount of materials used, thus reduce cost as if the raft was deployed in the deeper waters. This area is also where most fishers pass when going to and from other fishing grounds so they could have had opportunity to fish around the FAD.

When the boat arrived at the designated area for deployment the current was very weak. The boat then came to a complete stop and positioned against the current and wind; the raft was then released over board from starboard side of the boat. The anchoring rope was then release over board as the boat drifted with the current.

After all the anchoring rope was over board, the boat engine was re-started in order to keep the boat steady and straight as the boat moves very slowly forward so as to stiffen the anchor rope, while the anchor settled. After the FAD was stabilized the current became very strong; this provided a first opportunity to observe the reaction of the raft to strong current.

Results of fishing on the bamboo FAD

The Fad appeared to be withstanding the forces of the seas. It was very difficult to measure the fishing success around the bamboo FAD because three weeks after deployment it was destroyed by fishers. However one fisher reported that he caught over six hundred and ninety (690) pounds of fish, mainly bonito, skipjacks and dolphinfish.

Since then no other officially sanctioned FAD was constructed and deployed inSaint Vincent and the Grenadines