British Prime Minister David Cameron has set aside £5.6 million (US$8.4 million) of its overseas aid budget to go towards improving fishing in the Caribbean and other small island states.

Among the 25 Commonwealth small island nations set to benefit are: Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Cameron said the money will be provided from next year to target developing maritime economy plans, with additional funding on offer for future years to help these countries implement their plans.

The funding will provide for: technical experts from the UK Hydrographic Office to locate valuable marine resources and mitigate the hazards to shipping that would otherwise make the exploitation of those resources uneconomical; the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science to work with the countries to strengthen their capacity to manage their local fisheries, tackle pollution and develop coastal infrastructure; and assistance from the National Oceanographic Centre to map…