In the face of growing budgetary constraints, there have been calls for the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to be disbanded. If this occurred, it would rob Jamaica of an important and essential national institution: the Coast Guard.

Why essential? Because the marine space of the country of Jamaica is twenty-one (21) times the size of its land area. Most landlubbers think of Jamaica as an island – just one land mass – but our nation is much more than that. Jamaica is an archipelagic state, being composed of more than one inhabited island. In fact, the Jamaican nation state is composed of five inhabited islands: Jamaica, the main island, two of the Pedro Cays and two of the Morant Cays. In recognition of this, the JDF Coast Guard maintains a permanent operations base on Middle Cay in the Pedro Cays. Jamaica would not be able to properly monitor or defend its territorial waters without the JDF Coast Guard.

Our territorial waters – which extend twelve miles outward from these islands – are not our only concern. Jamaica’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends a further 200 miles outward (in fact we cannot get the full 200 miles since we overlap with our neighbours). Jamaica would not be able to properly monitor or defend our EEZ without the JDF Coast Guard.

We must not take this matter lightly. These areas are called "economic" zones because millions of dollars worth of resources are located there: living and non-living. Right now we are exploiting only the living (fisheries) resources in our EEZ – conch, lobster and finfish – and so are illegal fishers. A Jamaican naval presence is essential to ensure that we, rather than the poachers, benefit from the conch, lobster and finfish located in our territorial waters and EEZ. Regularly the Coast Guard apprehends foreign fishing vessels and brings the captains and crew before the courts. These enforcement activities underscore the value of the JDF Coast Guard to the national economy. There is a significant direct financial return from this important national institution.

Jamaica could earn much more from its fisheries resources, but due to the use of dynamite and other destructive fishing practices, our fish stocks are depleted. Many persons fish without valid licenses, use illegally small mesh sizes, and fish during the closed seasons for lobster and conch. If the Coast Guard were provided with the wherewithal to enforce the fisheries regulations, Jamaica could earn more from its fishery resources. An investment in the capacity of the Coast Guard to patrol would pay dividends in the increased value of Jamaica’s fishery resources.

As important as the living resources in our EEZ are, the non-living resources are potentially more valuable. One day, Jamaica can expect to benefit from the mineral resources embedded in the seafloor of its territorial waters and EEZ. Our Coast Guard will be important to ensure the safety of these installations, and its capacity should be enhanced toward that day.

As a maritime nation located beside some of the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, Jamaica needs to have substantial naval capacity to deal with emergencies, including search-and-rescue. The JDF Coast Guard is the agency responsible for mitigating oil spills, and therefore is entrusted with minimizing environmental damage from that source. The Coast Guard now plays an essential role in these activities, but is limited by its response capability, particularly in terms of the lack of shipboard helicopter capability. It is high time that the establishment of the JDF Coast Guard be upgraded to be all it can be in the new millennium.

Many Jamaicans are used to thinking of Jamaica in terrestrial terms, but this is not the whole story. There is much more to our country than land, and the JDF Coast Guard is the important link between Jamaica the island and the farthest corner of our nation state.