Source: JIS

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, on Thursday (May 29), applauded members of the Jamaica Conch Cluster (JCC) Project for their achievements.

These include establishing the world’s first and only Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified Queen Conch fishery.

Additionally, eight of the 11 JCC members received MSC Chain of Custody certification, assuring consumers that the product meets strict sustainability standards and can be traced from the moment the conch is caught at sea to its arrival on the market. Products that have earned this certification carry a blue MSC label.

“We gather, not just to celebrate but truly bear witness to what vision, partnership and unwavering commitment can achieve,” Minister Green said.

He was speaking during the closing-out ceremony for the two-year JCC Project, at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Kingston office.

The project was funded by the Compete Caribbean partnership facility, comprising donors from the IDB, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Green acknowledged that while these achievements are monumental, they are well deserved, as the conch fishery sector has long faced challenges due to a lack of sustainable preservation.

“Unfortunately, when I came to the Ministry, it was a time that we were not doing conch fisheries… . We had to suspend conch fisheries because our conch stock had fallen so low,” he said.

Mr. Green emphasised that this setback underscores the importance of sustainable fishing practices and the many people whose livelihoods depend on a thriving conch fishery.

“For us in Jamaica, our Queen Conch commercial fishery is one of the most important fisheries that we have. It provides employment to an estimated 2,000 persons and, indirectly, about 7,000 persons,” he indicated.

The Minister added that when the conch fishery was reopened, the Ministry and the Government vowed to prioritise sustainability and empower stakeholders to lead the charge in creating a lasting, resilient environment.

With these achievements, Mr. Green highlighted the financial benefits that can be gained from the certifications.

“We believe that we are now well positioned to claim our share of price premiums that MSC-certified seafood commands. Beyond economics, however, this blue label represents something far more profound; it is proof of what we’ve set out to achieve— to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship,” he said.

Traditionally, Jamaican Queen Conch has been exported to Martinique and Guadeloupe.

However, the JCC project aims to diversify product offering, and is currently testing three conch-based products developed in Canada, including canned conch in escoveitch and Scotch bonnet flavours.

Given the success of the JCC project and the Complete Caribbean model, Mr. Green believes they make up a roadmap that other areas of the fisheries sector can follow.

“The clustering of the players so that they recognise that you can compete as a unit because what we’re really competing for is the world’s market share. Competing among ourselves for our small market really makes no sense. But the world is clamouring for what we have, and I think the conch cluster has shown what can happen when you work together,” Minister Green maintained.

Meanwhile, JCC Lead, Roderick Francis, in his remarks, urged the Agriculture Ministry and the Government to assist in advancing the project.

“We’re not yet reaping the benefits of this MSC certification. We were just at a trade show… in Canada a couple weeks ago and people are interested in the product, but they don’t know what the product is,” he said.

“To be able to let people understand what this product is, taste it, get it on menus and partner with chefs all over the world; all of this takes time, money, development and market studies. So, I’m reaching out to everybody,” Mr. Francis appealed, adding that the JCC aims to make Jamaica’s Queen Conch the premier conch product globally.