The Grenada government Wednesday said it is now a position to submit the additional information being requested by United States authorities as the country moves to avert a ban on the export of fish to the North American country by January next year.
Marine Affairs Minister, Lennox Andrews, told legislators during the debate to amend the Fisheries Act and establish regulations that will make the island become compliant with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, the government is hoping for a reversal of the US position.
‘We are now in a position to submit the additional information for NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Fisheries reconsideration and reversal of this determination by January 1, 2026,’ Andrews told the Lower House of Parliament.
In August this year, NOAA’s Fisheries through a notice in the Federal Register announced that Grenada was one of 12 countries that will be banned from exporting fish and fish products to the United States due to not having a comparability finding from NOAA Fisheries, which requires a country to prove its fishing regulations and practices are equivalent to those of the United States.
The announcement of the ban led to the Grenada government establishing a Task Force which included top fisheries personnel and a legal counsel to ensure that all the relevant assessment, review and recommendation are completed by November 21 this with a view of averting the ban.
Andrews told Parliament that the members of the Task Force had completed their task and the presentation of the amended Bill to the Parliament for approval by legislators formed part of the recommendations.
‘The passing of this Bill today Mr Speaker is extremely primordial in our effort to avert. the decision coming to place early in the new year. The ministry would have done its work; we are at the point where there is a likelihood that the decision can be averted,’ he said, while indicating that the recent shut down of the US Federal government had affected the process because the government was unable to make direct contact with NOAA.
‘I understand now, America is open for business and we are working with our Ambassador in Washington, Tarlie Francis, to have that direct contact with NOAA, so we can not just present in writing but present physically in person with NOAA, (but) all of these additional information that we have to avert the likelihood of that decision taking place,’ said Andrews.
The legislation has since been approved with no objections and will go before the Senate on Friday.
Grenada’s fisheries sector has varied revenue, with average exports valued at approximately US$3.02 million between 2018 and 2022. In 2021 exports were valued at US$4.5 million, and the sector acounts for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs.