By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday said he had set himself the "goal" of doubling the Bahamas' annual $90 million fisheries exports.

Renward Wells, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said fisheries exports - $70 million of which are spiny lobster and crawfish, and the remaining $20 million conch, stone crab and snappers - represented an important avenue to increase the Bahamas' foreign currency earnings.

"I'm looking as a minister to see how we dramatically increase our foreign exports to get that foreign exchange into the country," he said. "I believe the Bahamian fishing sector, probably over the next year to two, can double the $90 million. We can look at $180-$200 million. That's my goal and we will see how close we can get to that."

While promoting the 2018 Agriculture Expo that will be held at the Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre (GRAC), beginning on April 13, Mr Wells stressed the need for the Bahamas to produce more of the food it consumes.

"One of the areas we can do it immediately is in the marine environment in fisheries, especially in identifying the pelagic species. We don't harvest tuna, wahoo or deep water grouper, and there are tons of deep water crabs we are not exploring as a people. We need to be able to encourage Bahamians to get into the pelagic fishing," the Minister said.

The goal of Expo 2018 remains the same as in previous years; to expose our nation's farmers, processors, agri-business people, craftsmen, artisans and marine business people to the consuming public, while at the same time educating our population on the opportunities that exist in farming and fishing in our country."

Mr Wells added that this year's Expo will feature demonstrations such as honey production, canning tomatoes, operating a successful farming business and more. It will also feature a live meat fabrication demonstration to show what an entire carcass looks like, and help farmers identify quality cuts to maximise their profits.