This fisheries database was handed over to the department following the completion of training sessions for local fisherfolk and other key fisheries stakeholders.

The training workshops were a part of the Darwin Plus funded project entitled, “Capacity Building in Fisheries Evidence, Networks, and Management (Virgin Islands)”. The project’s purpose was to enhance the knowledge and capacity of local government and key fisheries stakeholders for fisheries management locally.

“We are now better positioned to perform analyses on the fisheries data we collect and receive. The support provided through the Darwin Plus funding initiative and collaboration with the United Kingdom Government’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences (Cefas), on this component of the project has made significant inroads towards our goal of greater insight into fisheries in the Virgin Islands,” Director of Agriculture, Theodore James said in media release on Tuesday.

According to the release, the training workshops and the handover of the fisheries database was a result of more than two years of collaboration between Cefas and the BVI government to facilitate and improve fisheries management in the territory.