VOICES Bi-Monthly Magazine of the University of Technology, Jamaica | January – March 2022 8 Ms. Christine O’Sullivan, Principal Investigator / Senior Lecturer, and Dr. Andrew Lamm, Associate Professor, Faculty of Science and Sport (FOSS) recently completed the Jamaican segment of a Caribbean-wide survey of marine mammals. The project, initiated by the CaribbeanMarine Mammal Preservation Network (CARI’MAM) and the University of Toulon in France was implemented in Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Bonaire, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, and Sint Eustatius. The project was designed to increase regional knowledge on the types of marine mammal species found, and their distribution, in Caribbean waters. In Jamaica, a hydrophone (underwater microphone) was deployed five times in Discovery Bay, St. Ann (between February and November 2021), in collaboration with The UWI’s Discovery Bay Marine Lab and Yardie Environmental Conservationists Ltd. The data was then retrieved and sent to the University of Toulon in France for analysis. This information is used to identify areas for additional research and critical habitat areas that may need to be protected. The hydrophone was loaned to UTech, Ja. by CARI’MAM, with funding for the implementation of the project provided by UTech Jamaica’s Research Development Fund. Cont’d on page 9 RESEARCH BRIEFS Professor Fitzroy Henry, Professor of Public Health Nutrition College of Health Sciences Jaedon Lawe (Yardie Environmental Conversation Ltd.), Christine O’Sullivan (UTech Ja.), Llewellyn Meggs (Yardie Environmental Conversation Ltd.), Camilo Trench and O’neil Holder (The UWI, Discovery Bay Marine Lab) Credit: Anna-Kae West Co-funded by the UTech, Jamaica Research Development Fund (RDF), this study aimed at examining the gap between food imports and local production and the health risk posed by these trading patterns. Additionally, it aimed to identify opportunities to promote nutrition and health within this food system. The study shows that food and health are intrinsically linked. In the absence of cheap local alternatives, food imports are conspicuous in the low-cost food basket and therefore a friend to low-income households. In terms of promoting public health, food imports are a foe as they dominate the health-retarding food groups such as fats and oils, foods from animals, and sugars. Copies of the report will be made available to relevant stakeholders, including government, private sector companies, and philanthropic organizations. Are Food Imports A Friend Or Foe To Food Security And Public Health In Jamaica?” Regional hydrophone survey of marine mammals
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