Summer students get a feel for fishing industry

A two-week long fisheries summer programme began here on Monday, July 26.{{more}}

The summer programme, the first of its kind, is designed to stimulate interest in careers within the fishing industry.

The programme is organized by the Fisheries Division.

“Over the years, we have been giving lectures, particularly at the Coast Guard’s summer programme, but now we have seen it fit over the years to do something like this,” Senior Fisheries Officer Jennifer Cruickshank-Howard explained.

“The goal is to motivate the youth and make them better entrepreneurs and investors in the fisheries sector and to pursue future education in the field,” she added.

The summer workshop has been designed to expose participants to fishing methods, data assessment, the science of the industry, product development and fisheries management and conservation.

The second phase will include field trips to a number of the country’s facilities including the newly constructed fisheries complex at Owia and the Bequia fisheries centre and Old Hegg turtle sanctuary.

And with the local fishing sector being one of the major contributors to the Gross Domestic Product with just around two per cent, Minister of Agriculture Montgomery Daniel spoke of the tremendous potential for young people in the age old industry.

“This summer programme will expose you to several areas of study and you will get to focus on hands on training,” Daniel said.

The Minister identified specialized areas such as marine law, engineering and marine biology, particularly as the government has taken steps within recent times to expand and revolutionize the industry to operate as a business.

“All of these are interesting areas within the sector – it is for you to choose,” the Minister added.

Raymond Ryan, Chief Fisheries Officer spoke of the importance of getting young people to come to understand the many changes that have taken place within the fishing industry.

“The era when careers in the fishing sector were regarded as work for school dropouts is over,” Ryan said.

“At the end of the programme, we hope that you will learn that these careers are not for school dropouts.”

The summer programme ends on August 13. (DD)