Results of Fisheries Act Consultations Being Compiled

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Thursday, 12 July 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - After almost two weeks of consultations with fisheries stakeholders from across the twin-island state, Chief Fisheries Officer Cheryl Appleton has said that it is expected that the final revised Fisheries Regulations Act will be before Minister Hilson Baptiste before the end of July.

In an invited comment on the status of the consultations, Appleton said her office has been working around the clock for the past two days trying to “piece together” the new bits of recommendations that she is sure will add significant weight to the legislation, especially in the area of conservation.

Conservationist and fisherman Eli Fuller told Caribarena that from his understanding of the talks things went “fairly well”, and what is needed from Appleton and others at the head table is a document that reflects the true nature of the talks.

“We think it went fairly well. We want to know if Ms. Appleton is finished and if she will give her findings to the minister for him to sign,” Fuller said.

Regarding the petition for the prime minister’s intervention, the conservationist and his group seem to have taken a revised approach on the shoulders of the success of the recent talks.

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“We don’t want to go and harass the prime minister when the process is being carried through. Ms. Appleton needs to give an idea on timing and the Minister needs to give an idea of when the consultations will be reflected in signed legislation,” Fuller said.

In the meantime, Appleton has given assurances that before the end of July the document will be on the desk of the Fisheries Minister and ultimately out of her hands once again.

“I think by the end of the month the act should be signed. There were changes but more to the effect of tightening the legislation. They (stakeholders) actually added conservation measures,” Appleton said.

The Chief Fisheries Officer reiterated that what her office is trying to do now is simply to piece things together and finalize the Act just before it is presented to the minister.

Internal meetings within the fisheries department are aggressively under way; and before the final composition is taken to the minister some stakeholders will have an opportunity to have one final glance at it to make sure that their thoughts and suggestions are fairly reflected.

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