Harvest sector

Robin Mahon

Commercial fisheries

Fleet description

There are many types of vessels fishing for large pelagic species in CARICOM countries, using a variety of gears (Table 13). These have been placed into five summary categories for the purposes of comparing fleet composition among countries (Table 14):

Open outboard - troll, longline (OOL)
Open outboard - gillnets (OON)
Decked inboard - troll, gillnets (DKI)
Longliner - medium 7-15 metres (m) (LLM)
Longliner - large >15 m (LLL)

The diversity of fishing vessels and methods for large pelagic species is reflected in Table 14. When summarized, it is clear that the vessels used in CARICOM countries are primarily the open, outboard-powered ones typical of small-scale fisheries. Indeed, with a few exceptions, the advent of larger, decked vessels, especially medium longliners, has occurred predominantly within the last 10-15 years. This trend continues and is reflected in increased rates of lending for fisheries development (Murray, 2000).

The majority of vessels in the first four categories in Table 14 target several different types of resources depending on the season. However, even on a seasonal basis, all vessels of the same type may not shift their targeting in the same way. For example, not all vessels will shift to pelagics during the pelagic season, and not all vessels will shift to demersals during the off-season for pelagics. Thus, without additional information on fishing behaviour, it is very difficult to allocate the available effort among fisheries by the number of vessels.

Foreign-flagged vessels

Charging a fee for the registration of foreign fishing vessels (sometimes called flags of convenience) is a means of acquiring foreign exchange that has been pursued by two CARICOM countries in particular: Belize and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Belize reportedly has about 900 foreign vessels flagged, although the exact number was not available. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has 216 foreign-flagged vessels of all types. Saint Kitts and Nevis had one Canadian longliner flagged, but it was destroyed by a hurricane soon after starting operations. In Dominica, the Fisheries Division has advised the new maritime administration against registering flag-of-convenience fishing vessels.

Information on the area of operation of flagged vessels was not available for Belize. For Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the area of operation was uncertain but included the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Catches from these distant and unmonitored vessels can be attributed to these flag states just as landings from the small-scale domestic fleet are.

Both countries have experienced problems arising from the practice of flagging foreign vessels. For Belize, illegal fishing by these vessels has been a problem. European Union (EU) issues regarding the quality of fish on the vessels caused Belize to decertify them for processing aboard. Belize does not have the capacity to monitor the vessels, and the revenue from fishing vessel registration is relatively minor compared to the problems encountered.

Country		Boat type	No.	Cat.	Trip profile
ANT		Longliner: one multipurpose 40-foot (ft) (12-m) fibreglass and one sloop, both with diesel inboard	2	LLM	Vessel of main processor in Antilles (Baretto) travels 30-40 miles east for about 3 days and fishes day and night for all available large pelagics
ANT		Open outboard or sloop		NA	Mainly targets reef fish but catches some large pelagics while trolling
BAR^a		Moses: open boats 3-6 m in length, either rowed or with outboard	400	NA	Used primarily for reef and coastal fisheries, but occasionally trolls for large coastal pelagics when these are close to or over island shelf. Makes short trips <1 day
		Day launch: primarily wooden, 6-12 m in length with diesel inboards of 10-180 horsepower (hp)	300	DKI	Trips <1 day targeting flyingfish and all large pelagics in season, with distribution of effort within trip dependent on availability of species. May fish other species
		Iceboat (launch): both wood and fibreglass, usually >12 m in length, with diesel inboard	150	DKI	Trips 5-14 days, engages in mixture of trolling for pelagics and gill-netting for flyingfish in season, with distribution of effort within trip dependent on availability of species. Usually trolls 4 lines
		Longliner: mostly fibreglass or steel >12 m with diesel inboard	30	LLM	Trips 12-28 days targeting all available large pelagics
BHA		Commercial (various sizes and configurations)		NA	Targets demersal resources (reef fish, conch, lobster), but catches some large pelagics while trolling
BZE		Gill-netter		OON	Targets mainly Scomberomorus. Other information not available
DMI		Longliner 12 m fibreglass with diesel inboard	1	LLM	May fish overnight, targeting all available large pelagics
		Small longliner, open, 6-7 m		OOL	New fishery targeting yellowfin on west coast with surface longlines on day trips
		Trolling vessel: canoes, keel boats, open plywood	961	OOL	Day trips depart 6.00-7.00 hours and return 16.00-17.00 hours. Without Roseau Complex being operational, boats must return to base to catch market, but used to depart again later. Socio-cultural aversion to overnights at sea. Some fish around 8 fish-aggregating devices (FADs) put out by fishers and Government according to fisheries regulations. Government assistance needed; fishers lost FADs because of inaccurate installations on steep, deep slopes and entanglement with longlines
GRN		Longliner multiday cabin, 12-14 m, with diesel inboard	12	LLM	Trips up to 4 days, 60-70 miles west, targeting all available large pelagics, 18 miles line, 400 pound (lb) line, 360 hooks per set, 3-4 sets in 4 days
		Day-boat: pirogues with small cabin, 9 m, two outboard or inboard	110 18	OOL LLM	Trips <1 day targeting all available large pelagics, 4-6 miles line, 250 lb line, 125 hooks per set
		Water-boat: pirogues, no cabin, 6-9 m, outboard		OOL	Fish close enough to shore to return to base with individual fish as they are removed from line, ?? miles line, ??-lb line, ?? hooks
		Troller: pirogue-type boats, outboard		OOL	Trips of 1/2 to 1 day, targeting all available large pelagics, with 2 trips per day in peak season. Troll ?? lines
GUY		Large, decked gill-netter, diesel inboard	284	DKI	Trips 12-15 days fishing day and night at less than 40 km offshore, mainly fishing for demersal species, but with some vessels (proportion unknown) targeting Scomberomorus in season
GUY		Small open gill-netter, outboard	338	OOL	Shorter trips closer inshore, mainly fishing for demersal species, but some vessels (proportion unknown) targeting Scomberomorus in season
JAM^b		Canoe, predominantly standard 28-ft (7-m) fibreglass or smaller wood, most with outboard. There are a few larger open boats	254	OOL	Reportedly targets pelagics on trips of <1 day to offshore banks or along shelf edge, trolls up to 4 lines from bamboo outrigger poles. Boats without outboards target mainly kingfish closer to shore
JAM^b		Similar mix of vessel types and sizes	2 882	NA	Targets mainly demersal stocks, but trolls for large pelagics en route to and from fishing grounds. Occasionally makes targeted trips when species are abundant
STK	SK	Wood and fibreglass, with 2 outboards	41	OOL	Trips <1 day. Trips depart 6.00-7.00 hours, return 12.00-14.00 hours. No overnights. Trolling 2-4 lines for all available species
STK	NE	Open vessel with outboard	14	OOL	Several motor 1 hour to troll 2-4 lines for 8 hours around FADs located by global positioning system (GPS). Others depart 5.00 hours to troll and return by 10.00 hours. Of 14 boats, about 4 fish FADs only
STL		Fibreglass, diesel inboard	4	LLM	Trips of several days longlining for all available large pelagic species
STL		Fibreglass pirogue and wooden canoe with outboard (40-115 hp)	835	OOL	Trips of <1 day trolling for all available species in season. Also targeting demersal species
STV		Fibreglass, 12.5 m, inboard diesel multipurpose vessel	5	LLM	Trips of 3-5 days, with 10-15 miles line, making 1 set per day for all available species in season. Also fishes for demersals
STV		Wood or fibreglass pirogue about 7 m length with outboard about 45 hp		OOL	Trips <1 day up to 80 km to east trolling for all available species in season. May fish for demersal species
SUR		Longliner with diesel inboard >15 m	2	LLL	Trips tend to be about 2 weeks. Targets mainly yellowfin, bigeye, swordfish. Recently sent broadbill swordfish for mercury testing to obtain permit to ship to USA
TRI
	TR	Foreign longliner		LLL	Taiwanese vessels make fewer, longer trips in mid-Atlantic (those with freezers up to 6 months)^c
					Local longliner trips are 7-15 days
		Local longliner 14-23 m, diesel inboard 180-350 hp	4 4	LLM LLL	Sets 300-1 000 hooks, on 6 millimetre, 1 300 lb main line, 25-80 km in length
		Coastal pelagic: trolling	47	OOL	Trips are near shore for <1 day using hand line with live bait, trolling with bamboo outriggers
		Coastal pelagic: gill net	342	OON	Trips are near shore for <1 day using gill nets, mesh sizes 3-4.5 inches with modal length of 4 inches
	TO	Multipurpose >10 m	10	LLM	Small-scale multipurpose boats have variable patterns of operation depending on season. In pelagic season they make day trips, usually 6.00-18.00 hours
	TO	Wood and fibreglass, open vessel, 7-9 m length, outboard 45-90 hp	694	OOL	Trips of <1 day for pelagics in season, using small longline, trolling, live bait. Also fishing for demersals

^aWilloughby and Leslie (2000).
^bGrant et al. (2001).
^cChan A Shing (1993).

Although not specifically mentioned by the countries, the FAO International plan of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IPOA-IUU) promotes such initiatives to curb irresponsible fishing. Action to counter IUU fishing has not been discussed much in the Caribbean within the context of the IPOA. Efforts to control illegal fishing in other regions may provide useful guidance to Caribbean countries (Aqorau, 2000).

Main fishing areas for large pelagic species

Table 15 indicates the main areas in which fishing takes place. In most countries fishing for large pelagics is done only within territorial waters or the EEZ. Only four countries fish in adjacent EEZs and only three on the high seas. In many countries that indicated the EEZ as the main area of fishing, the fleet does not fish throughout the entire EEZ, usually operating only in the closest, easily accessible areas. For those countries that fish in other EEZs, this activity is usually illegal, and as fisheries develop, is likely to lead to conflicts. In countries that fish the high seas, only Barbados has officially accepted the Compliance Agreement. Once this agreement is in force, the positive authorization of fishing vessels operating in international waters will be a precondition of access to high seas resources.

TABLE 14

Summary fleet description based on numbers and categories in Table 13

FLEET	ANT	BAR	BHA	BZE	DMI	GRN	GUY	JAM	STK		STL	STV	SUR	TRI		Total
FLEET	ANT	BAR	BHA	BZE	DMI	GRN	GUY	JAM	SK	NE	STL	STV	SUR	TR^a	TO	Total
Year of data	01	00	01	01	01	01	01	98	01	01	01	01	01	01	01
Open outboard - troll,longline (LL) (OOL)					961	500		475	41	14	835			47		2 873
Open outboard - gill nets(OON)														342	12	354
Decked inboard - troll, gill nets (DKI)		450					284									734
Longliner - medium (LLM)	2	30		1	1	30					4	5		4	10	87
Longliner - large (LLL)													2	4		6
Total	2	480		1	962	530	284	475	41	14	839	5	2	397	22

^aChan A Shing (1999).

TABLE 15

Main fishing areas for large pelagic species

Country		Territorial waters	EEZ	Adjacent EEZ	High seas	Distant waters
ANT		Ö	Ö
BAR		Ö	Ö	Ö	Ö
BHA		Ö^a
BZE		Ö			Ö
DMI		Ö
GRN		Ö	Ö	Ö
GUY		Ö	Ö
JAM		Ö	Ö
STK
	SK	Ö	Ö
	NE	Ö ^b	Ö
STL			Ö	Ö
STV			Ö	Ö		Ö
SUR			Ö		Ö
TRI
	TR	Ö	Ö		Ö
	TO		Ö	Ö

^aRecreational mainly from Abaco, Bimini, N. Eleuthera and San Salvador. Dolphinfish in Exuma Sound and east of the banks. Swordfish more abundant in south and tuna off Harbour Island.

^bNorth and south of Nevis on shelf edge, perhaps Monkey Shoal.

Ports (landing sites) from which pelagic fishing takes place

Pelagic fishing takes place from numerous ports or landing sites in some countries, and from just a few in others. Table 16 summarizes the number of sites overall and the number from which pelagic fishing takes place. The size and distribution of fishing ports have several implications, including those for economies of scale of infrastructure, ease of monitoring, communications, difficulty of management, challenges of instituting co-management on a national scale and many more.

TABLE 16

Ports from which pelagic fishing takes place

Country		Total fishing ports and beaches	Pelagic fishing ports
ANT		22	Jolly Harbour, Falmouth
BAR		Primary 4	Primary - Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, Speightstown, Weston, Oistins
		Secondary 7	Secondary - Half Moon Fort, Paynes Bay, Pile Bay, Skeete’s Bay, Conset Bay, Tent Bay
		Tertiary 20	Tertiary - Six Men’s Bay mainly, but most tertiary beaches have vessels that target large pelagics
BHA			No commercial fishing for large pelagics
BZE			Landing sites in south^a
DMI		25
GRN		Grenada 29 Grenadines 10	Saint Georges, Gouave, Victoria, Sauteurs, Grenville
GUY		84	Three main ports are: Houston Inshore Fishing Port Complex; #66 Complex, Corentyne; and Rosignol Inshore Fishing Port Complex, but gill-netters are located at 63 sites^b
JAM^c		194	Vessels targeting large pelagics were located at 79 fishing beaches. Only seven beaches had ten or more boats: Lucea, Hanover (28); Pagee/Port Maria, Saint Mary (19); White River, Saint Ann (16); Whitehouse, Westmoreland (15); Belmont, Westmoreland (10); River Bank, Westmoreland (10); Whitehouse, Saint James (10)
STK
	SK	11	Old Road, Sandy Point, Dieppe Bay, Basseterre
	NE	8	Charlestown, Oualie Beach, Newcastle
STL		12	Small-scale pelagic fishing takes place from all ports, but Castries Fisheries Complex, Dennery, Micoud, Vieux Fort are main ones
			Longliners operate mainly from Castries Fisheries Complex
STV		Saint Vincent 22 Grenadines 7	Small-scale pelagic fishing takes place from all ports, but Kingstown and Calliaqua are main ones
			Longliners operate from Kingstown Fisheries Complex
SUR		>75	Longliners based at CEVIHAS Complex^d
TRI
	TR	66	Majority of trolling vessels (29) are based at Blanchisseuse on north coast. Remainder are based at 12 other sites around country
			Gill-netters are distributed around island at 37 ports
			Longliners are based at Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago Yacht Club, National Fisheries Company Ltd (NFC), National Petroleum Fishing Complex
	TO	27	Small-scale pelagic fishing may take place from all ports, but primarily from Pigeon Point, Buccoo Point, Mount Irvine, Bon Accord, Charlotteville, Roxborough, Plymouth, Granby Bay/Studley Park, Castara and Scarborough^e
			Large vessels operate from Scarborough

^aVoice of the Fishermen in Southern Belize, Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), November 1998.

^bMahon (1998).

^cGrant et al. (2001).

^dCentrale voor Vissershavens in Suriname (CEVIHAS N.V.).

^eThomas et al. In press.

Description of shore facilities used for pelagic fishing

In the past, the development of fisheries in the small islands of the Caribbean typically implied capital projects of highly visible infrastructure construction. Globally, this was the interpretation of economic development up until the 1970s. This outdated interpretation has persisted longer in the Caribbean than in some other places, and casual observation suggests that much of the shore infrastructure may be underutilized or operationally unaffordable in terms of management and maintenance by governments. Even recently constructed, modern facilities seem to suffer this fate. This suggests that a different perspective is required for the expansion or development of pelagic fisheries in the future.

TABLE 17

Numbers of landing sites by types of shore facilities that could be used for pelagic fishing^a

ANT

BAR

BHA

BZE

DMI

GRN

GUY

JAM

STK

STL

STV

SUR

TRI^b

Total no. of landing sites

Harbour/breakwater

Jetty/dock

3/3

2/0

Unloading quay with cranes

Ice plant

5/5

1/1

Ice

1/0

6/6

x^c

0^d

1/1

Cold storage/chill room

3/3

1/1

1^e

Freezer

1/1

?/1

Water

4/4

?/1

Fuel

4/4

?/1

Electricity

4/4

?/1

Lighting

?/1

Cleaning/gutting slab

Enclosed area for cleaning and gutting

Area for small processors

3/3

?/1

Retail/vendors facilities

6/6

Lockers for storage

1/0

1/1

Gear sheds

Haul-out ramp

Boatyard

4/4

Truck loading bay and forklift service

Machinery maintenance

Office (management)

3/3

Space for quality-control lab

1/1

Fishers' association meeting space

2/2

^aEach cell shows number that exist and number used for pelagic fishing.

^bThere are facilities at NFC site.

^cFacilities are geared towards lobster. Ice supplies are limited (a boat load is hard to find). Cold storage is available commercially and there are air services to fly tuna to major airports.

^dIn most cases, where available, ice and cold storage are off landing site at private facilities.

^eIn Scarborough there is a government cold store operated by the National Insurance Property Development Company.

TABLE 18

Numbers of landing sites by CARICOM country in three categories: undeveloped beach, developed small landing site and complex

Country		Undeveloped beach	Developed small landing site	Complex
ANT
BAR
BHA
BZE
DMI
GRN
GUY
JAM
STK
	SK
	NE
STL
STV
SUR
TRI
	TR
	TO

Two approaches are taken to presenting information on shore facilities used for pelagic fishing. The first attempts to summarize the numbers of landing sites by types of facilities (Table 17). An inventory of this sort provides a good picture of the relative development of the various countries, with a view to contrasting the total available facilities with those actually used for pelagic fishing. It would also be useful to have some indication of the extent to which the capacity of the facilities is presently used. This would provide an indicator of the potential for development of pelagic fishing within the scope of the present infrastructure.

The second approach to presenting information on shore facilities is to categorize the types of landing sites/facilities. The three groups could be considered as summaries of CARICOM fisheries (Table 18).

Allocation of existing landing sites in each country to these groups would require (i) clear definition of the groups, and (ii) information on the landing sites. This information is not available for a definitive allocation.^[20]Nonetheless, using rough definitions and available information, a tentative allocation should be possible. Suggested categories are:

beach with no or minimal facilities: undeveloped area that may be improved by the fishers themselves with makeshift structures, channels cut into mangroves, etc.;
developed small landing site: a site at which the government has placed some facilities for fishers, such as lighting, water supply, gear sheds, covered working area;and
complex: a developed site with a building, office, freezers, jetty and breakwater (if needed).

BOX 1 Characteristics of developed landing sites in Barbados Oistins: jetty, fuel, water, electricity, chill store/cold store, ice plant, vendors’ stalls, boatyards, slipway, processing area Skeete’s Bay and Conset Bay: jetty, fuel, water, electricity, boatyard, chill store/cold store, processing area, sales area Most other sites: fuel, water, electricity, boatyard, cutting/gutting slab, sales area Major characteristics of the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex:

· Harbour protected by breakwater	· Chill store, cold store, blast freezer
· Processing hall for small fish processors	· Office accommodation for management

· Capacity for over 100 fishing boats	· Unloading quay with cranes, gutting tables
· Boners’ building for cleaning and gutting	· Space for quality-control laboratory

· Fuel, water and electricity at berths	· Fishers’hall with scales, ice supply
· Vendors’ stalls for processing and sales	· Maintenance workshop for machinery

· Ice plant with storage, rake and blower	· Truck loading bay and forklift service
· Fishers’ lockers for fishing equipment	· Boatyards for boat construction and repair

^[20] Ideally, the classification scheme would be developed by a study based on a database of the landing sites and facilities present.