The Our Shared Ocean podcast makes its first trip to the Caribbean Sea, home to 26 Small Island Developing States, to find out about the work of the National Fisheries Authority in Jamaica and how Iceland and Ireland are playing a part in the growth and development of the Jamaican Aquaculture Industry.

Leanne Bennett, a proud Jamaican, Acting Senior Research officer and current Masters Student tells us about her love of aquaculture, local oyster fisheries and how she ended up in Iceland. Although Jamaica’s oyster fishery is in its infantile stages an increase in anthropogenic activities have created a need to understand the correlation between the natural environment and its effects on oyster population and growth performance. Specifically, as the extent of coastal Mangroves declines so does the natural habitat of the Mangrove oyster, Crassostrea rhizophorae.

The research will help establish a more streamlined value chain responding to the growing demand for oyster locally and internationally. Leannes’ Masters research is supervised by Prof David Benhaim a fish behaviour specialist in the Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology from Holar University in Iceland. David is primarily interested in aquaculture but also in evolutionary Biology and Ecology and shares some rather optimistic projections for the longevity of the Our Shared Ocean podcast itself.

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The Our Shared Ocean Podcast is a funding initiative by the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid and managed by the Marine Institute.