Dominica reports major advancements in air travel, agriculture and fisheries for September 2025

Dominica: The island nation saw great progress in the month of September. Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit shared a recap on some of the ongoing projects in Dominica, with great progress in the fields of air travel, agriculture, and fisheries. 

In the first recap, PM Skerrit highlighted major progress on Soufriere fishers, rehabilitated landing sites, new agriculture equipment, improved facilities at Contour Airlines, and signing of the Air Services agreement with Qatar. These projects reflect Dominica’s ongoing efforts to increase local production, improve food security, and put in place better national and regional connections.

First Recap of September

Air Services Agreement - At the 42nd International Civil Aviation Organizations (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal, Canada, Dominica entered into an Air Services Agreement with Qatar. It was signed between Minister for Tourism of Dominica Denise Charles-Pemberton and Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. 

Notably, this agreement allows both countries to operate unlimited passenger and cargo flights with full traffic rights. It was a significant move to improve the bilateral ties between Dominica and Qatar, while also expanding the island’s air network and place the country for greater international air traffic.

Contour Airlines - Contour Airlines introduced nonstop flight services between Dominica, St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) to improve regional air travel. These new routes provide service from St. Thomas to Dominica on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and from Dominica to San Juan on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

These services are expected to improve connectivity between the Caribbean nations, bring a surge of visitors to Dominica, and boost the local economy. Also to benefit from this initiative will be several small businesses, including taxi operators, street vendors, hotel owners, tour guides, and local artisans.

New Agriculture Equipment - The agriculture sector has been supplied with 29 new agro-processors that bring in $268,000 worth of new stainless steel tables under the Emergency Agricultural Livelihoods and Climate Resilience Project.

These machines will create a safe environment for food production, facilitate quality in the processing plants, and which will also increase competitiveness of Dominican products. The initiative aims to reduce Dominica’s import of food products, raise local production, and in the end improve the nation’s overall economy. 

Rehabilitated Landing Sites - The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy started the development of renovated fish landing sites in Dublanc and Bioche, which are worth EC$155,078 and EC$151,009.70 respectively. These improved facilities include new locker rooms, storerooms, refrigeration rooms, plumbing and electrical systems. 

The Ministry put in place new provisions to create safer, more convenient spaces for fishermen to support sustainable livelihoods. Besides that, the construction in Mahaut has reached the finishing stage, while new projects are underway in Newtown, Fond Cole, Stowe, San Sauveur, and Scotts Head.

Soufriere Fishers - 11 new fishing boats were made available to Soufriere fishers - an investment of $475,000. 5 local contractors built the boats as part of a programme to provide 51 vessels to fishers whose livelihoods were affected by Hurricane Maria. As of now, 33 vessels have been fully built, while 21 are handed over to the fishers, contributing to the government’s goal of restoring livelihoods and strengthening Dominica’s fishing sector.