The Sustainable Use of Living Marine Resources will be discussed with a high level Japanese delegation at the 15th Annual OECS Fisheries Ministers meeting in Grenada on 27-28 May, at the Flamboyant Hotel. Fisheries Minister Hon Roland Bhola, as host minister, will deliver the feature address.
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Takao Makino, Ambassador accredited to the OECS, His Excellency Yoshimasa Tezuka, and other senior Japanese Government officials will comprise the visiting delegation to the two day meeting with OECS Ministers, Commissioners and fisheries officials to discuss a wide range of issues, towards maximising the region’s Blue Economy.
Representatives from Suriname and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the OECS Secretariat, are also expected to attend.
Chief Fisheries Officer Justin Rennie said, “Topics to be covered will be relating to the management and development of fisheries in the OECS with a view of putting in place policy and interventions that are necessary for the continued development of the fishing industry, and the people of the region. The fishing industry is directly linked to the Blue Economy and there will also be some level of discussion in that area, because whatever decision will be made as structures are put in place to develop the full potential of the Blue Economy, the fishing sector will be affected.”
A news release from the Fisheries Ministry said that Japan and the OECS Islands have enjoyed a healthy bi-lateral relationship over the years. Japan has assisted Grenada in the development of the island’s agricultural sector, through the construction of fish markets around the island, among others.
The Blue Economy is a business model that uses nature-inspired technologies to shift society from scarcity to abundance, tackling issues that cause environmental and related problems in new ways, while sustainably providing basic human needs.
By Linda Straker
