Blue Levies Recommended for Sustainable Financing of Barbados Fisheries and Aquaculture

International experts are recommending that Barbados consider the introduction of environmental taxes, also known as “blue levies”, among a suite of innovative solutions to scale-up sustainable financing of the country’s fisheries and aquaculture industries.

The advice, which is also being given to Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, follows research by Professor Pierre Failler, director of the Centre for Blue Governance at the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom and researchers Michael Bennett and Antaya March.

In their study Blue Economy Financing Solutions For The Fisheries And Aquaculture Sectors Of Caribbean Island States, the trio reviewed various financing solutions available for fisheries and aquaculture development in the three islands.

A primary recommendation is the introduction of blue levies which the researchers said are “special fees that help finance research and conservation projects, directly benefiting the fishing industry”.

They also suggested the use of blue tokens, where financial technology and blockchain technology are used to raise money for blue economy development projects, and natural asset companies that allow fisheries and aquaculture projects to fund themselves by leveraging natural capital as public equities.

Failler, Bennett and March argued that the use of blue levies is recommended and applicable in almost every scenario, as they allowed the fisheries and aquaculture sectors to “drive their own development in financing research and conservation projects to their own benefit”.

“There is an opportunity for increased environmental taxes and fees in countries like Barbados for development revenue generation, where existing taxes and fees fall below regional averages or when the current taxes as a proportion of national GDP are generally limited, for example, less than three per cent of national gross domestic product,” the study advised.

The researchers noted that several countries impose levies that are targeted at environmental protection, usually in the form of environment or tourism enhancement levies.

“Similarly, this kind of mechanism can be used to enhance the fisheries and aquaculture industries in various ways, such as environmental protection, marine protected areas management, and infrastructure development,” they explained.

“These levies are usually applied in different ways, at different rates and at different levels of organisation, like on importation, consumption, accommodation, service, or travel.”