The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business 
Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Attracting younger Bahamians into the fishing industry is “a huge concern”, the head of the Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance said yesterday, with the profession often viewed as “the last rung on the ladder”.

Describing the findings from a Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) survey of the Bahamas and nine other nations as “spot on”, Adrian LaRoda told Tribune Business that it had highlighted another “serious deficiency” in terms of training and education.

He added that the Alliance was trying to persuade the Government “to see the wisdom” of creating a tertiary education programme for the Bahamian fishing industry, describing the sector as the “third pillar” of the economy.

Disclosing that the CRFM report’s findings were in line with his own views, Mr LaRoda described the inability of Bahamian fishermen to access bank credit and other forms of financing had existed since “time immemorial”.

Acknowledging that he, and the Alliance, were among the 104 fishermen and five fish processors interviewed for the CRFM study, Mr LaRoda said the organisation was working had to alter the industry’s image as a profession of last resort.

“Bringing younger people into the industry, it’s a huge concern,” he told Tribune Business. “What is happening is that the fisheries economy is almost invisible in the Bahamas, as fishing is seen sometimes as the last rung on the ladder, something you have no other reason to go into unless there’s nothing else to do.

“We’re trying to alter that perception and show the industry is one where you can make a handsome living and contribute to the country.”

The CRFM report revealed that 68 per cent of the Bahamian fisheries industry’s workforce was aged between 36 to 55 years-old, indicating it was having difficulty in attracting younger recruits from the under-35s age group. Just 14.14 per cent of the current labour force was aged between 15 to 35 years-old.

Mr LaRoda added: “We’re trying to get the Government to see the wisdom of introducing a tertiary fisheries programme as part of COB, or at least as part of the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

He suggested that vessels seized from drug smugglers, and funds from the confiscated assets fund, could be used to finance and equip such a training programme for budding Bahamian fishermen.

Mr LaRoda added that the Alliance and fishing industry stakeholders were also reaching into the high schools, and said there was “no reason” why formal training programmes could not be established as the sector was “the third pillar of Bahamian society”.

The CRFM report noted that only 17.31 per cent of respondents in the Bahamas had received fisheries training, placing this nation among the bottom tier of CARICOM states in this regard.

Mr LaRoda acknowledged this was a “serious deficiency”, and expressed desire for continuous training initiatives that would tutor fishermen in the sustainable management of marine resources.

The CRFM study also noted that only 33.72 per cent of the Bahamian fishermen interviewed had ever received a loan for their income-generating fisheries activities, while only 35.29 per cent of fishermen claimed to have access to loans.

This was despite the report saying this: “Some 68.9 per cent of respondents claimed to have spent money from their savings in the last five years to purchase equipment,and a smaller percentage have purchased boats, engines and traps.

Ninety-three per cent of respondents claim that in the next five years they will invest in improving their fishing equipment. Buying new boats, fishing equipment and traps continue to be the main objectives of fishermen.

“To do this, fishermen will make use of their own savings.”

Acknowledging that access to credit was “a continually huge problem” for the Bahamian fishing industry, Mr LaRoda confirmed to Tribune Business: “Quite honestly, it is a problem that has existed from time immemorial, and I don’t know if it’s going to change any time soon.”

He attributed the problem to the failure of Bahamian commercial bankers to understand the fishing industry, and how credit could be used.

Start-up costs in the fishing industry were “huge”, and Mr LaRoda said the Alliance was encouraging fishermen to deposit their daily earnings at the bank to buildup a track record and relationship with lending institutions.

Adding that the Bahamas Development Bank, created by the Government to invest in sectors such as fishing, had “not worked out very well,” Mr LaRoda said the Alliance was trying to encourage Bahamian credit unions to lend on the basis that “returns could be great, as there’s very low risk”.