BVI taking steps to define fishing boundaries

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has signalled that the government has taken some steps to properly define the BVI’s marine borders, including areas within which fisherfolk should legally ply their trade.

The issue of the territory’s fishing boundary was raised by a concerned resident during a recent airing of the Virgin Islands Voice programme. The resident suggested that clearly defined and monitored maritime borders would benefit the territory significantly.

In response, Premier Wheatley acknowledged that the United Kingdom holds partial responsibility for securing the BVI’s borders, including those related to fishing.

He noted that the UK provides support through its Blue Belt initiative, which assists Overseas Territories in establishing and maintaining healthy, productive marine ecosystems.

“As part of the Blue Belt programme, they provide support for monitoring your exclusive economic zone. Right now, we have an exclusive fishing zone, which we are seeking to transform into an exclusive economic zone. A lot of work is ongoing for legislation to form an exclusive economic zone, and we expect that to be passed before the next general election,” the Premier explained.

He continued: “The United Kingdom provides a level of support to monitor our marine borders and assist with the challenges of illegal fishing and things like that. We also have our recently formed Maritime and Shipping Authority, and they also have responsibility to monitor marine borders and have capacity for search and rescue and enforcing marine borders.”

Despite this assistance, Premier Wheatley said the BVI still needs additional support to fully secure its vast maritime territory.

“It’s an area that we’re focused on. We’re not there yet, and we’re seeking as much support as possible, even the use of satellite technology to monitor our exclusive economic zone,  because it’s such a vast area and we’ll never have the amount of assets necessary to patrol the amount of water,” he said.

Across the Caribbean, countries have been placing greater emphasis on developing and safeguarding marine resources (now referred to as the “blue economy”) as a key driver of future development.

However, many continue to struggle with securing their marine borders, leaving them vulnerable to illegal fishing and the transhipment of illicit substances destined for markets such as the United States.