The Fisheries Department within the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, Forestry, Fisheries, and Labour is celebrating 43 years of improvements within the local fishing industry.
This remarkable milestone should be saluted, as the fishing industry continues to make indelible contributions to food security, livelihoods and household income in this country.
An eight member (8) executive was named to serve on this year’s committee. Mr. Winfield Tannis-Abbott was selected as chairman for the third consecutive year.
Chairman of Fisherman’s Day Committee, Winfield Tannis Abbott said some of these accomplishments include the strengthening of fisheries management over the years.
A month of activities in commemoration of the 43rd year of celebrations commenced from April 20, 2018 and will culminate on Whit Monday; May 21, 2018.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘From Our Ridges into the High seas, Our Nation We Feed’ and the slogan is ‘Cleaner Reef, Healthy Fish To Eat’.
These were selected because 2018 was designated by the International Coral Reef Initiative as the third International Year of the Reef in an effort to strengthen awareness globally about the value of marine ecosystems health, that are threatened by a plethora of land use challenges.
There have been improvements in the livelihoods of fisher folks and their families; however, if St. Vincent and the Grenadines is to continue to benefit from gains within the fisheries industry, attention must be paid to better managing the local reef ecosystem.