STATUS REPORT ON CARIBBEAN AQUACULTURE
|
STATUS REPORT ON CARIBBEAN AQUACULTURE |
| GOVERNMENTAL COOPERATIVE PROGRAMME FAO-ITALIA | ||
| GCP/RLA/102/ITA | AQUILA II PROJECT | FIELD DOCUMENT No6 |
ALESSANDRO LOVATELLI
(Project Staff)
and
LUIGI LORIA
(Project Consultant)
The designation employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Mexico City
February 1993
FAO 1993
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PROJECT STAFF
The permanent staff of the Aquila II Project are the following:
Claudio Gregorio
Project Director
Juan José Salaya
Senior Aquaculturist
Alessandro Lovatelli
Mariculturist
Enrico Varsi
Aquaculturist
PROJECT HEADQUARTERS
FAO/AQUILA II (GCP/RLA/102/ITA)
c/o Dirección General de Acuicultura de SEPESCA
Privada de Trini No: 10
Colonia San Jerónimo Lídice
10200 Mèxico, D.F.
México
Tel: (52-5) 681-7866, 683-7022 ext. 102
Fax: (52-5) 681-7866, 520-5755
Tlx: 1772151 FAOMME
IV. ORGANIZATION OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Table No
2. Estimates of aquaculture production in 1990 (mt)
5. Developmental process of the aquaculture industry
Figure No
1. Insular and continental Caribbean countries visited by the AQUILA II mission.
Attempts to promote aquaculture development in the Caribbean, to improve local fish supply, by adopting regional strategies can be traced back to the early eighties. At the Technical Conference on Aquaculture, held by FAO in Kyoto, Japan, in 1976, a strategy based on the establishment and development of regional aquaculture centres was adopted by the countries and then implemented by FAO through the UNDP funded Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP).
Following the establishment of centres in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the development of a centre for the Caribbean was also considered and proposed. This idea was discussed by the Caribbean countries in Freeport, Bahamas, in 1981 as follow-up to the recommendations of the Third Session of the Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (WECAFC), Havana, Cuba, in November 1980. The establishment of a Caribbean regional aquaculture centre was also the subject of a mission fielded by ADCP in 1982 jointly with the CARICOM Secretariat. Taking into account the rapid development of aquaculture in Jamaica as well as the availability of facilities, it was proposed that the regional centre be located there. However, for various reasons, including the lack of funding for a regional centre, this strategy was never implemented and alternative solutions had to be sought.
One alternative was initiated by FAO/RLAC (Regional Office of Latin America and the Caribbean) in the Caribbean as early as 1983, through the establishment of a regional technical cooperation network on aquaculture and artisanal fisheries. The Network, which is supported by the FAO Regional Office by means of a Technical Secretariat, is based on the concept of Technical Cooperation amongst Developing Countries (TCDC).
Although various organization and institutions (such as FAO, OAS, CEC) have in the past assisted and contributed towards the promotion and development of the aquaculture industry in the Caribbean, the present involvement remains rather limited. One observation is that the current assistance is confined and limited to the recipient countries with little or no cooperation nor coordination among the countries of the region facing similar constraints, problems and needs. Therefore it is generally felt that the involvement and participation of the countries in a regional aquaculture project would encourage a faster and better coordinated development of the industry as a whole.
A new element in regional aquaculture development in the Caribbean is represented by the second phase of the Italian funded FAO project AQUILA (Support to Regional Aquaculture Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean - GCP/RLA/102/ITA), which, after a first phase that covered only the Latin American countries, has been expanded to include the Caribbean. The main objective of AQUILA II is to provide FAO with a mechanism to assist the participating countries in aquaculture development planning, identification and formulation of technical assistance and investment projects, including sources of funding.
The AQUILA II Project initiated its activities in the Caribbean by mounting a field mission, May-June 1992, to review the status of aquaculture in the region and to identify regional and national technical assistance activities. This exercise also complied with the request by the CARICOM Secretariat for assistance in the preparation of a regional aquaculture project. This request was made during the Hundredth Session of the FAO Council Meeting held in November 1991.
The preparation of the above mentioned Caribbean regional aquaculture project proposal entailed the up-dating of the status of aquaculture development in the Caribbean. The principal objectives of this exercise were to:
gather under one cover the development status of the aquaculture industry in each of the countries of the Caribbean region;
synthesize common national and regional constraints affecting aquaculture development and identify the needs to develop the sector at a regional level; and
prepare a comprehensive document as background information and as a support tool for aquaculture project proposals to be addressed to regional and international funding agencies and as an integral part of the regional project proposal prepared by Aquila II on Caribbean Aquaculture Development (CARAD) submitted to the CARICOM Secretariat.
The AQUILA II Project wish to thank all the persons who provided information for the compilation
of this status report on aquaculture in the Caribbean region. In particular we appreciated the
services and assistance of the staff attached to the Fishery Departments in all of the countries
visited. In particular we would like to thank the following persons for their contributions and
support. Bahamas: Mr. R. Thompson, Director, Mr. S. Sinclair-Sands, Senior Aquaculturist, Ms.
E. Garraway, Aquaculturist of the Department of Fisheries, Mr. D. Sweeting, Operations Manager
of the Bahamas Development Bank and Mr. J.A. Thompson, Manager of the Bahamas Marine
Farms Ltd. Barbados: Mr. P. McConney, Chief Fisheries Officer, Mr. S. Willoughby, Biologist,
of the Fisheries Division, Mr. C. Squires, Chief Project Officer of the Caribbean Development Bank
and from the Univeristy of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Dr. E.A. Moore, Director of the Centre
for Resource Management and Environmental Studies and Dr. A. Fields, Researcher. Belize: from
the Fisheries Department Mr. V.V. Gillett, Fisheries Administrator, Mr. G. Myvett, Senior Fisheries
Officer and Mr. J. Kotch, Assistant Fisheries Officer. Dominica: Ms. G.S. Augustus, Fisheries
Officer and Mr. N. Lawrence, Fisheries Development Advisor of the Fisheries Division and Mr.
Chen Wen-Shui, Chief Technician at the Aquaculture Experimental Prawn Farm. Dominican
Republic: Ms. M. Tejera, Director and Ms. R.R. Nolasco, Head of the Aquaculture Division,
Department of Fisheries Resources, and Ms. E. Alvarez, Director of the Experimental Aquaculture
Centre of the Universidad Central del Este. Grenada: the Chief Fisheries Officer, Mr. J.A. Finlay,
of the Fisheries Division, and Mr. J. Andrews, Aquaculturist. Guyana: Mr. R. Charles, Chief
Fisheries Officer and Mr. T. Phillips, Principal Fisheries Officer of the Fisheries Department.
Jamaica: Of the Fisheries Division Mr. A. Kong, Acting Director, Mr. V. Rodney, Acting Deputy
Director and Mr. J. Squire, Extension Officer. Mr. C. Hanson, Manager of the Twickenhan Park
Facility. From the University of West Indies, Mona Campus, Dr. D.R. Steele, Head of the
Department of Zoology and Mr. K.A. Aiken, Lecturer and, Dr. J.D. Woodley, Head of the
Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory. Dr. F.E. Ross, Director of Aquaculture Jamaica Ltd. and Mr.
R. Tyson, Executive Chairman of Fellowship Aquaculture Ltd. St. Lucia: From the Department
of Fisheries Mr. H.D. Walters, Chief Fisheries Officer, Ms. M.L. Felix, Aquaculturist, Ms. S.
Jennings-Clark, Biologist and Mr. Hong Jong Fuh, Hatchery Technician at the Beausejour Prawn
Farm. Mr. Laforce, Senior Loans Officer of the St. Lucia Development Bank. St. Vincent and
The Grenadines: Mr. K.L. Morris, Chief Fisheries Officer of the Department of Fisheries.
Suriname: From the Fisheries Department Mr. H. Lionarons, Head, Mr. H. Madari, Head of
Artisanal Fisheries, Ms. H. Jessurun, Head of Research and Ms. L. Samson, Aquaculturist. Dr.
J.H.A. Mol, Ichthyologist at the University of Suriname. Mr. J.J. Watkin, Financial Director and
Mr. A.R. Dongen, Director of Comawena Shrimp Co., Drs. J.J.F. Tjang-A-Sjin, Director, Mr. A.
van Alen, Co-Director and Ms. B. van Alen, Biologist of Commewijne Shrimp and Fish Culture
Co., and Mr. E.K. Mannes, Managing Director of the Suriname American Industries Ltd. Trinidad
and Tobago: From the Fisheries Division Mr. M. La Croix, Director and Mr. F. Mitchael, Manager
of the Bamboo Grove Fish Farm facility. Mr. L.F. Ballah, Director, Mr. A. Duncan, Chief
Information Officer, Ms. A. Siung-Chang, Principal Research Officer and Mr. G. de Soura,
Research Officer of the Institute of Marine Affairs. From the University of West Indies, St.
Augustine Campus, Dr. J.S. Kenny, Senior Lecturer, Mr. I. Ramnarine, Researcher, Department of
Zoology, and Ms. A. Knight, Head of Library. Dr. E. Rampersad, Director of Diversification and
Ms. R. Batchsingh, Aquaculture Officer at Caroni (1975) Ltd. From the Sugarcane Feeds Centre
Mr. F.A. Neckles, Project Director, Mr. A. Benn, Extension Officer and Mr. S. Benny, Hatchery
Manager. Dr. A. Chesney, Managing Director of the Caribbean Food Corporation.
Finally, we would also like to express our thanks to Mr. Bisessar Chakalall, FAO Regional
Fisheries Officer based in Trinidad and Tobago, for his assistance and contribution to this report.