No illegal fishing, Johnson Smith warns fishers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is to develop and implement protocols to protect the welfare of fishers on the high seas.

Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, who is the portfolio minister, disclosed that both her ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are to collaborate on the development of the protocol and called on fishers to operate responsibly on the high seas, warning that persons caught fishing illegally could face imprisonment overseas.

Johnson Smith, who was making her contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday, urged boat owners to insure their vessels against damage, loss, seizure and, importantly, to ensure the care and protection of crew members.

“It is not responsible to send people’s children out on the high seas without consideration of the risks and the protection needed, and when they fall into distress to say, ‘well the Government must’. You have a responsibility, as well, and I want to call on them to be more thoughtful in this regard,” she stressed as she warned fishers against illegal trade in international waters.

“Illegal fishing is a major international issue. Vessels are seized – that’s part of a judicial process, crew is liable to be imprisoned, again a judicial process. These are not political processes in which governments can engage. If a decision is taken to commence that process, it becomes very difficult,” she warned.

“Although we hope they will not continue to multiply, we do believe that we are in circumstances where we can no longer treat them in an ad hoc manner. We need a full policy… to treat with such matters going forward,” she said.

The warning comes amid an active case involving 34 Jamaicans, who were believed to have been fishing illegally in Colombian waters.

“There are eight other persons on the vessels who are non-nationals but who are claiming relationships to persons in Jamaica. We have engaged with the owner of the vessels, and we are working with our embassy and our Colombian partners to process the crew for repatriation to Jamaica… . We are hopeful of a positive result,” she said.

Johnson Smith noted that the foreign affairs ministry, over the last several years, has facilitated the repatriation of scores of fishermen, who found themselves in situations of distress at sea in other countries in the region.

These include 28 fishers, who were repatriated after their boat exploded off the coast of Colombia, as well as others who have been detained for fishing illegally or held in other criminal activities.

She added that approximately 150 Jamaican nationals have been repatriated in these circumstances in recent years.

JIS