Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Fishermen Trying to Save Jamaica

Aired July 08, 2001 - 18:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Jamaica. The collection of plants and animals are found no where else in the world. But Jamaica's island paradise is now becoming a challenge for fishermen. In today's "Solution Seekers" report, here's CNN's Natalie Pawelski.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATALIE PAWELSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a profession as old as time, but these Jamaican fishermen are now fighting to ensure that it continues for centuries to come. There's been a sharp drop in Jamaica's fish catches over the past two decades. Two of the main reasons: Water pollution and overfishing. Now the fishermen themselves are banding together to try to turn the tide.

PETER ESPEUT, CARIBBEAN COASTAL AREA MANAGEMENT FOUNDATION: We have three cooperatives and five fishers organizations, and we have 50 fishers that have been appointed game wardens and fisheries inspectors by the government.

PAWELSKI: The wardens work with fishing villages to keep beaches free of debris and pollution.

They also check nets, making sure the mesh allows juvenile fish to escape, giving them time to reproduce. Finally, the wardens work with their fellow fishermen to stop illegal practices like dynamite fishing, just one of the techniques that lead to overfishing. The fishermen also helped set up the Portland Bight (ph) protected area, about 750 square miles of Jamaica's most critical and diverse marine habitat.

The cooperatives are organizing volunteer groups to protect pristine barrier islands, working with the government to stop sewage outflows into the sea, and sharing sustainable fishing techniques with other nations, including Cuba, Haiti, and Colombia.

But they are not talking about limiting catches, at least, not yet. And no matter what they do, all their efforts may not be enough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each year the catch weight is less, the average size of the fish is less, and there is the move away from quality fish towards more trash fish. Typical signs of an overfished fishery. PAWELSKI: Also still unsolved, the destruction of mangroves in Jamaica, which serve as nurseries for fish and other creatures. But while fish stocks are declining all around the world, here in Jamaica, the fishermen are working against problems like pollution and overfishing, hoping to save the fish, their livelihoods, and their traditional way of life.

Natalie Pawelski, CNN

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com