WATCH: Tensions flare at meeting over Charles’ Barking Lodge aquaculture project

ST THOMAS, Jamaica -- A sensitisation meeting over a controversial aquaculture project in Barking Lodge, St Thomas erupted in chaos Tuesday as tensions boiled over amid continued opposition to the development near a primary school in the community. The meeting, held at the Barking Lodge Primary and Infant School, the institution located behind the proposed fish ponds, ended abruptly when Member of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern Rose Shaw and her team walked out. Dr Michelle Charles, the former St Thomas Eastern Member of Parliament and director of St Thomas Farms Limited, the company behind the project, had organised the sensitisation meeting for the development which was suspended due to a lack of environmental permits. At the meeting, an overview of the project was presented along with environmental and safety measures that will guide the development. Clive Williams, director of the National Fisheries Authority, said the organisation determined that the project was conducted according to agricultural standards and was indeed feasible. "When we looked at the site, the water source that is available, the proximity to the community, we realised that the project is feasible... We don't see any challenges of it having an adverse effect on the environment and the community," Williams said. Despite Williams' assurances, tensions flared as critics of the project maintained their skepticism, while Shaw accused the chairman of the meeting of having a political agenda. "I am utterly disgusted with what is taking place... a politician is cheering the meeting," Shaw said. The meeting subsequently erupted in a shouting match before ending prematurely, and even the police had to be called in to quell tensions. Charles has described the initiative as having the potential to become one of the first major commercial aquaculture operations on Jamaica’s eastern side. She said responsible investment of this nature could contribute to job creation, skills training, infrastructure improvements and sustained economic growth in an area that has experienced limited commercial development since the decline of the sugar industry.