Eyes on the Water: Technology, Transparency and Jamaica's Sea

Jamaica's maritime space is roughly twenty times the size of its land. In 2004 I called for better monitoring of it. The tools to do that are now cheaper and better than ever, but who owns the data matters.

Dr. Peter Edwards
3 min read

Most Jamaicans think of the country as an island of about 11,000 square kilometres. Our maritime space, including the exclusive economic zone and the Pedro Banks, is roughly twenty times larger. It holds fisheries, conch and lobster grounds, shipping lanes and the reefs that protect our coast. It is also very hard to watch. In a 2004 letter to The Gleaner I argued that we were spending heavily on our ports while paying too little attention to the rest of our coastline and waters.

The cost of an unwatched sea

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, including poaching of conch and lobster on the outer banks, costs Jamaica money, food and future fish stocks. The same gaps in surveillance are exploited by traffickers. Our Coast Guard has a vast area to cover with limited resources.

Technology helps, if the public owns the data

Satellite imagery, vessel tracking, mapping software and drones can now watch large areas at a fraction of the cost of patrol boats alone, and some global vessel-tracking data is freely available. In 2015, when drones funded partly by a private seafood company were proposed for fisheries monitoring, I welcomed the technology but urged caution. When one company pays for the surveillance, it may learn more about where the fish are than its competitors or even the regulator. Economists call this information asymmetry, and it can let a few players capture most of the benefit from a public resource.

The principle is simple. Data about Jamaica's marine resources should be public, managed by the responsible agencies and used to set science-based limits. Partnerships with the private sector are welcome on transparent terms. Who owns the data? Who gets first access to newly mapped fishing grounds? Do the revenues from those resources return to the Jamaican people through licences and fees?

Looking toward the sea

A serious ocean strategy pairs better surveillance with better management: regular stock assessments, catch limits based on biology and a fair licensing system. In 2004 I closed my letter by urging the country to keep “looking towards the sea.” Two decades later, with far better tools in hand, that advice matters more than ever.

Adapted from “More Emphasis on Coastline Watch” (The Gleaner, Letter of the Day, November 9, 2004) and “Drone Monitoring of Jamaican Maritime Areas: Tread Carefully” (2015).