(Photo: M. McNaught)
Jamaica’s sun, surf and sand
provides so much more than an iconic tourist destination. This coastal zone and
its ecosystems – beaches, coral reefs, seagrass and mangroves – support
thousands of livelihoods. In the fishing
sector alone there are approximately 20,000 registered artisanal fishers, 4,300
fishing vessels and 140 fishing beaches. This does not include the unregistered
fishers, the industrial fishers, or the spin-off livelihoods (such as fish
cleaning and vending). And every year more persons take to fishing when faced
with periods of unemployment or poverty.
(Photo: D. Hughes)
Not surprisingly, Jamaica’s coastal
productivity has suffered a dramatic decline in the past few decades, with many
a study emphasizing the impact of fishing activities on the marine ecosystem.
However those impacts related to climate change and sea level rise are less
documented.
(Photo: D. van Proosdij)
These assessments will be used
toward developing shoreline changes and Characterisations including historical
changes and current vulnerabilities, and also toward developing lnundation.
Models predicting sea level rise scenarios, storm surge and flooding scenarios
and predicting future vulnerabilities.
When complete this work will provide
baseline information and data on the projected impacts of climate change on the
fisheries sector, and make recommendations based on the assessment that will
enable the key stakeholders and the country as a whole to cope with the
expected impacts.
This work was carried out under the
project “Preparation of a Vulnerability
and Capacity Assessment of Selected Fishing Villages in Jamaica” funded by
the European Union (EU) through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre
(CCCCC).
