The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust (MBMPT) on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 regarding the management of the Montego Bay Marine Park. The two year agreement will empower the Trust to carry out specific activities on behalf of the NRCA which is also providing funds to cover staff and other operational expenses for a one year period.  

Tuesday’s agreement marks the third MOU between the NRCA and the Trust regarding management of the Montego Bay Marine Park. In 1996, the agencies first collaborated to manage the Park, when the NRCA delegated management of the area to the Trust under a temporary three-year agreement. A similar two year agreement was also signed in 2006.   

The Montego Bay Marine Park is a 15.3 sq. km marine area located adjacent to the city of Montego Bay. It runs for 9 km of coastline from the Sangster International Airport to a Point east of the Great River. The Park extends from the high water mark seaward. The area was designated a Marine Park on June 5, 1992 by the Natural Resources (Montego Bay Marine Park) Order, 1992 and it was the first park designated under the Natural Resources Conservation Authority Act in Jamaica.  

Marine park regulations govern the types of activities which can be undertaken in a marine park. The regulations prohibit, among other things, the deposition of noxious substances as well as fishing, excavation, dredging and filling operations without permission. The maximum fine under these regulations is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).