Hotels move to boost local fishers’ access to tourism market through Blue Alliance

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fishers across the island could soon gain greater access to the local hotel market through a proposed partnership involving Sandals Resorts International, Jamaica Inn, Grand Palladium and Iberostar. Dubbed the Blue Alliance, the partnership is in its early stages and aims to address challenges facing fishers while strengthening links between the tourism industry and the local fishing sector. “We want to make sure that guests can actually have local foods, local fish when they come here”, said Mitzie Smart, social responsibility manager in the Palladium Cares Department at Grand Palladium Resorts & Spa. Smart, who was speaking to the Observer Online during the Iberostar Sustainability Learning Exchange in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday, said much of the fish purchased by the hotel is supplied by Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) and Rainforest Seafoods. She said the hotel wants to create more opportunities for local fishers to supply its guests. Discussions are, however, still ongoing to determine how the hotel could work with fishers to meet its supply requirements while ensuring that the partnership benefits fishing communities, the hotel industry and Jamaica. The alliance also aims to support fishers through training, capacity building and the provision of equipment. Georgia Scarlett, environmental manager at the Sandals Foundation, said local fishers face varying challenges and need support tailored to their individual circumstances. “Fishers many times require more resources to move further. They are very resourceful. They want to do the work, but they have all kinds of things fighting against them,” she said. Scarlett said the initiative would build on the Sandals Foundation’s long-standing support for fishing communities. “We have two marine-protected areas that we directly manage here in Jamaica. We also support other marine-protected areas like in Negril and Orange Bay Fish Sanctuary as well as the White River Fish Sanctuary in St Mary, and we've done lots of work with fishers like training, capacity building, provision of equipment, disaster resilience, disaster recovery support,” she said. Scarlett added that climate change, declining fish stocks and overfishing were placing additional pressure on fishing communities. Jareth Vermeulen, destination stewardship representative for Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in Jamaica and Aruba, said the alliance was still in its early planning stages, with the hotels hoping to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by April. He also encouraged other hotel stakeholders to join the initiative. “We are looking towards partnership for responsible tourist operators in Jamaica. That is what we're trying to coin as the alliance. It is, of course, focused on the blue foods, on the fisheries, but also focus on waste management,” he said. Vermeulen said funding commitments and financial allocations had not yet been finalised. The hotels are seeking to determine the needs of fishing communities before deciding on the resources required. “We heard during the workshop that cold storage is one of the biggest issues and the value chain being traceable is also another one. So we're looking towards that right now and then hopefully when we're done with this materiality assessment, we can then have those answers more diligently,” he said. The partnership comes amid wider efforts to strengthen Jamaica’s Blue Foods sector, which includes foods derived from aquatic animals, plants and algae. Iberostar Hotels & Resorts hosted a two-day workshop at its Rose Hall Complex in July, where stakeholders from Jamaica’s tourism, fisheries, conservation and business sectors discussed ways to improve local seafood sourcing and fishers’ access to the hospitality market. Participants included representatives from the National Fisheries Authority, National Conservation Trust Fund of Jamaica, National Environment and Planning Agency, Environmental Foundation of Jamaica and Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, along with local seafood suppliers, fish sanctuaries, fishing communities and technical partners. Opportunities to strengthen the connection between local fisheries and Jamaica’s hospitality sector were also identified, including investment in cold-chain and storage infrastructure, improved post-harvest handling, greater consistency in supply and quality, and stronger traceability and certification systems. Discussions also explored how creating greater value from each catch can support fisher livelihoods and meet the needs of the hospitality sector, while promoting the long-term sustainability of Jamaica’s marine resources.