The Department of Marine Resources St. Kitts and Nevis and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have joined to donate fishing pots to fishermen on Nevis.
This venture comes about in an effort to reduce ghost fishing, which is basically continuous fishing from lost, abandoned or discarded fishing gear. Ghost fishing contributes to depleting commercial fish stocks and reduction in the profit made by fishers.
By using biodegradable panels and twine on fishing pots, ghost fishing can be reduced as the caught fish may be able to escape as the panels degrade. During the handing over of the donation, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries et.al Hon. Eric Evelyn had this to say:
