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As part of the REBYC II LAC activities in Trinidad and Tobago the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries along with the Caribbean Fisheries Training and Development Institute (CFTDI) implemented a fish-handling and processing training course with the aim of promoting multi-stakeholder value chain development for shrimp bycatch in order to improve human livelihoods.

The training sessions were held during the weeks of 15th March - 19th March 2021 and 22nd March - 26th March, 2021. Each theoretical session covered the following topics: the marine Fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago; anatomy, morphology and classification of finfish; fish spoilage; personal hygiene practices and sanitation procedures; sanitary considerations for processing establishments; the handling of fish in-shore and on-board; market forms; principles and methods of salt curing; the properties of salt and its preservative effects and the principles of drying fish. A few days later following the theoretical session, a practical session was held and included demonstrations and practices on the following subject matters: icing of fish; preparation of a plant for wet fish processing; wet fish processing: market focus; salting of fish and packaging of chilled and salted fish. Each session was preceded by and ended with the strict following of sanitary and hygiene practices.

Participants included fishers, vendors, boat owners, other fisheries stakeholders and representatives from the Orange Valley Wholesale Fish Market, which is managed by the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO). The training was conducted by staff of the CFTDI. The Fisheries Division is exploring the possibility of conducting the training in the trawl community of Orange Valley in collaboration with other Project partners.