The Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy has marked fifty years of service to Dominica, with a church service and a week of activities celebrating the milestone and the people who work the island's waters.
The golden jubilee was observed under the theme «Fishing for Life: Celebrating Our Past, Navigating Our Future», a theme that ties the division's history to the livelihoods that depend on the sea and to the waters that will carry the sector forward.
Speaking at the anniversary church service, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy Roland Royer said the Government remains committed to the development of the fisheries sector and to the fishers who sustain it. He described the division's fifty years as a record of service to coastal communities across the island, from the fishing villages of the north to the landing sites of the south.
The Fisheries Division is the arm of the ministry responsible for the management and development of Dominica's fisheries, working with fishers, vendors and cooperatives on the island's coasts. Its responsibilities span the stewardship of marine resources and the support services that keep the sector operating.
The anniversary programme included a church service and a series of activities across the week, bringing together current and former staff, fishers and their families to mark the occasion. The celebrations placed the fishing community at the centre of the milestone, recognising the role of fishers in the island's food security and rural economy.
Fisheries remain an important part of Dominica's economy and of the daily life of its coastal communities, supplying fresh fish to markets and households and supporting employment in landing, vending and processing. The sector sits alongside agriculture as a pillar of the ministry's blue and green economy agenda.
The jubilee comes as the ministry continues to frame fisheries within a wider blue economy strategy, linking the management of marine resources to sustainable livelihoods and to the island's broader development goals. The theme chosen for the anniversary points in the same direction, honouring the division's past while setting its sights on the future.
Minister Royer's remarks at the service underlined the Government's position that the sector's development and the welfare of fishers go together. The anniversary provided an occasion for the ministry to restate that commitment in front of the community the division serves.
For fifty years the Fisheries Division has worked alongside Dominica's fishers, and the week of activities gave staff and the fishing community a chance to reflect on that shared history. The celebrations closed with the church service, where the theme of navigating the future was set before those who will carry the sector forward.