The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has indicated that it is continuing to monitor an incident that took place last Sunday (December 11) involving an unmarked fishing vessel at the Pedro Bank – Jamaica’s key fishing ground.

In a a statement, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Pearnel Charles Jr said he commended and applauded the swift efforts of the Jamaica Defence Force 2nd District, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Authority, in defending Jamaica’s waters against the “imminent threat” from an unmarked fishing vessel conducting illegal fishing activities.

“The unmarked and unregistered fishing vessel was intercepted by the JDF Coast Guard,” Charles said.

“Reports indicate that the personnel onboard the unmarked vessel became hostile. Notwithstanding, the crew of some 131 personnel and the unmarked vessel were apprehended and taken into custody and transported to the JDF Coast Guard’s base at Port Royal.”

Charles stressed that the Government remains resolute in protecting the island’s marine and coastal ecosystems from illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and enforcing the Fisheries Act 2018, and the Exclusive Economic Zone Act which safeguards our waters from these crimes.

He said IUU and other related crimes are crippling Jamaica’s capacity to earn from the fisheries sector.

“In 2022 alone, we have incurred significant losses from our most profitable fisheries, namely conch and lobster, as well as other emerging high-value fisheries,” Charles said.

“In our ongoing efforts to eradicate the stain of this crime on the fisheries sector, Jamaica joined the Ministerial Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry by signing the Copenhagen Declaration in October 2021.”

The minister said this was critical in Jamaica’s continued commitment to combat, deter and eliminate IUU fishing, and its inextricable links with organised crime in the fisheries sector.

“We have derived several benefits and resources from this partnership so far which have been deployed to protect the sector in the form of key resources and building capacity to combat IUU,” he said.

“Further, Jamaica is preparing to become a hub for the Blue Justice Community. As a hub we will have access to key services to improve the Government’s efforts to address fisheries crime, in the way of knowledge, connection and support.”

The Blue Justice Initiative (BJI) responds to the need to cooperate and build capacity to address transnational organised crime in the global fishing industry. The goal of the BJI is to identify measures required to address transnational organised fisheries crime.

BULLISH AND UNRELENTING

The minister noted that criminals seek out the most vulnerable regions of the world in which to conduct their activities, typically states with limited resources to prevent and combat organised crime. An important element of the BJI is therefore to support developing countries in implementing measures to deter and counter transnational organised fisheries crime.

Through this initiative, support is to be provided through peer-to-peer interactions from experts around the world and vessel tracking assistance from the Norwegian International Vessel Tracking Centre, run by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries and the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and its partners, through instances of joined up government, linkages and partnerships, remains bullish and unrelenting in our tireless efforts on this matter,” Charles said.

“We will continue to bolster the efforts of the authorities through our portfolio agency, the National Fisheries Authority to eradicate this scourge on our fisheries sector.”