Westmoreland Eastern MP wants more support for fishers, market
Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 12:06 AM
WESTMORELAND EASTERN Member of Parliament (MP) Daniel Lawrence wants the agriculture ministry to better support the efforts of fishers, especially those living in Whitehouse.
“The fishing industry in my constituency, Whitehouse and surrounding areas to be exact, was a thriving industry as there were incentives to offset some of the expenses on the fisherfolk. Today, there are little or no incentives that would encourage younger persons living in the areas to join the industry,” he said in his contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The MP argued that the fishers who have remained in the industry are experiencing severe challenges as a result of piracy from larger vessels like lobster boats that have been fishing illegally in local waters, often damaging fish traps.
“They cannot provide for their families while constantly losing their traps and having to start all over from scratch. I am asking the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr to intervene on behalf of the fisherfolk and to also include some subsidies for them to stay afloat with the rising prices, and to encourage younger fisherfolk to enter the industry, as the average age is over 50 years,” the MP pleaded.
Lawrence added that former agriculture minister, Floyd Green, had promised to rehabilitate the road leading to the fishing village in Whitehouse, and he and the fishers are awaiting the fulfilment of that promise.
The MP also told Parliament that the Whitehouse Market, the only functioning fruit and vegetable market within the constituency, is in a “very deplorable condition”.
“Last December, over four truckloads of garbage and debris were removed from the market in the Christmas clean-up. Minister McKenzie, during one of his tours in Westmoreland Eastern, visited the market wanting to rehabilitate the market, only to find out that the market was leased,” he lamented.
Desmond McKenzie is the minister of local government and community development.
At present, Lawrence said vendors have not been selling inside the market and appealed to the minister for an update on the situation.
“The vendors have to build stalls for themselves or sell on the ground yet, Madam Speaker, they all have to pay market fee,” he said.