ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES (CU)_The St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) government is attempting to resume commerce with the European Union. SVG is a country in the southern Caribbean.
Initially prohibited from trading with the EU 20 years ago, the island nation received a second “red card” in 2017 for failing to take sufficient action to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU). The European Commission cited a lack of control by the nation’s authorities over vessels flying its flag as the reason for issuing the red card in 2017.
“These vessels operate all over the Atlantic and offload their catches in Trinidad and Tobago (which has already been warned in order to improve control over activities in its ports),” the E.C. said in 2017. “Effectively, these vessels elude any control over their activities. This raises the concern that they are involved in illegal practices.”
Saboto Ceasar, the minister of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, rural transformation, industry, and labor in SVG, recently declared that the country is committed to ratifying and complying with the Port State Measures Agreement (PMSA) requirements and that it intends to put a renewed emphasis on combating IUU, discouraging vessels from engaging in IUU, and refraining from using prohibited ports.
“We have hired international legal advisors, and very soon we are going to see the removal of the red card so we can export again to the European Union,” Ceasar said.
The minister made his remarks at the official launching of a new seafood processing facility constructed by Jamaican company Rainforest Seafood. According to Rainforest Seafoods CEO Brian Jardim, the new plant, which is situated in the village of Calliaqua, will exceed food safety regulations for both the E.U. and the US Food and Drug Administration.
International consumers who purchase Caribbean fish and seafood from Rainforest are affected directly by the E.U. restriction on imports from SVG, according to Jardim, thus the company makes the resumption of trade a top priority.
“This will open up another world of possibilities and lucrative untapped markets that we currently shop to from other plants in the Caribbean. So that is just one more opportunity for growth we see out of this facility,” Jardim said.
Opening trade back up is easier said than done, however, Ceasar said.
“Political will alone and the discussions at cabinet alone cannot bring dreams to reality. The legislative framework had to be put in place,” he said. “And before the end of this year, we are going to see through the Parliament of our country a modern Fisheries Act. We continue to work to ensure that we follow international standards.”
On 25 July, the National Assembly held a meeting to discuss the bans, prompted by an Order Paper issued by Opposition Leader Godwin Friday.
“Over two decades ago, SVG exporters were banned from exporting seafood to E.U. markets, principally in Martinique, pending certain improvements in the handling of the seafood catch in our facilities,” the Order Paper states. The Government of SVG initiated steps to improve the fish handling conditions in our facilities. Yet, SVG fish exporters are still not able to export to E.U. Markets.”
Friday urged the government to figure out and correct the issues, and asked it to state “why, in over 20 years, the government has not been able to satisfy the conditions to restart the export of seafood to E.U. markets, and whether the government has abandoned efforts to re-enter that market”.
Meanwhile Ceasar said SVG is working on “the largest fleet expansion program” the country has ever seen.
“Over the next few weeks, we are going to start, and this is going to be rolled out over the next few years,” he said. And over 90 fishers in St Vincent and Grenadines have already applied and will be approved very soon to put fish not only in local dishes, but in dishes across the world.”
