Marketing Arrangements for Fish Landed at Sea Lots, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

Fish is an important source of protein; and for many families, particularly in certain rural coastal areas, it is still the cheapest and most readily available source of protein. In 1976 the annual per capita consumption of fish and fish products in Trinidad . and Tobago was 22 lb. while the annual per capita production was only 17 lb. In 1980, 3.7m kg of fish and fish product was imported at a cost of $20,293,783 while 4m kg was produced locally with a value of $17,280,904. It has been projected that by 1985 the demand for fish and fish product in Trinidad and tobago will be 20.3m kg annually. A substantial part of the total production of fish in Trinidad and Tobago is met by the efforts of small independent fishermen operating in the inshore area. Between 1966 - 1981 a total of 3377 inshore boats were added to the industry employing some 4132 fishermen. These fishermen operate from 52 landing areas around the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. One such landing area is Sea Lots which is. situated adjacent to the Beetham Highway on the North-western end of Trinidad, in the Gulf of Paria. This study is about the marketing of fresh fish from Sea Lots based on a survey of fishermen.