THROUGH the efforts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), students from the Choiseul Secondary School (CSS) recently embarked on an innovative project with the production of sea moss from their rafts, located at Piaye, in Choiseul.
The JICA Technical Cooperation “The Project for Strengthening Sustainable Use and Management of Coastal Fisheries Resource in the CARICOM Countries” implements diverse pilot projects in the Caribbean region.
The project aims at allowing marine resource users to receive the bounty of the sea in a sustainable manner with the cooperative management of the aquatic resources by the user groups and the government.
Choiseul Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (CFCS) and the Project are collaborating with CSS, regarded as a leading school for Saint Lucia in Agricultural Science. The initiative is directed at developing a School-based Sea-moss Farming and Processing Programme.
Earlier, in January, students harvested and processed sea moss from a school managed raft at Piaye Bay under the instruction of Nigel Michel, a CSS teacher. The sea moss was carefully washed, bleached, and dried by students at the processing area in Choiseul Fishing Port. Due to the good weather, 32kg dried sea-moss labelled as excellent were produced.
The Project and CFCS will continue supporting the School-based Sea Moss Farming and Processing Programme to ensure further development of the sea moss industry in Saint Lucia.
Other projects to be undertaken will include:
Cleaning sea-moss, preparing for bleaching process, drying process, etc.