Jamaica has offered to assist Trinidad and Tobago in strengthening its laws and safety framework for water sports following a fatal jet ski accident that killed 7-year-old Angelica Jogie at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park during a family outing.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett made the offer while speaking with Caribbean Pulse on the sidelines of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace in Antigua and Barbuda on May 13, in response to questions about measures Jamaica has implemented to regulate its water sports industry.

Bartlett said Jamaica is willing to share its experience to help improve safety in the sector while ensuring it can continue to operate.

“We’re willing to sit and look at methods to ensure a safer water sports arrangement because after all it’s one of the attractions that has a strong call by our guests,” he said.

“People like it and want it, so we have to try our best to make it safer. Jamaica is willing to share ideas and best practices and also learn from other places where they have done things better.”

He added that Jamaica has taken firm action in the past when safety concerns arose in the water sports sector.

“We had some bad examples of what not to do with some of these motorised water sports activities. So at the moment that is suspended and we are reviewing the acts around that so as to make it safer for our users as well as our visitors,” he said.

Personal watercraft use in Jamaica is highly regulated, with a ban on their commercial use in place since 2014 following several accidents, including incidents that resulted in the deaths of two individuals, among them a child.

Bartlett expressed condolences to the Jogie family.

Jogie, who was days away from celebrating her eighth birthday, was struck by a jet ski on April 8 while in a designated swimming area.

Her father and another relative were also injured in the incident.

A man was initially detained but later released.

In Trinidad and Tobago, there is currently no blanket ban on personal watercraft, but authorities in Tobago have taken recent legal and legislative steps following the incident.

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) received a court injunction on April 23 prohibiting the use of personal watercraft, the same day it debated and passed the Tobago Marine Parks Bill 2026.

The legislation, piloted by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, seeks to regulate activity within Tobago’s marine parks, including licensing boat operators and placing restrictions on noise and alcohol consumption.

However, tourism stakeholders say enforcement of existing laws remains a key issue.

Reginald MacLean, president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association and general manager of Blue Waters Inn, told Caribbean Pulse at the Caribbean Travel Marketplace that Tobago already has legislation in place under the Buccoo Reef Marine Park framework.

“At the end of the day we have legislation… and I think a lot of what is there needs enforcement,” MacLean said.

“It’s older legislation that needs updating into modern times, so if Jamaica has this framework, please share it with us. Why remake legislation if legislation already exists in different islands?”

MacLean added that while a complete ban may not be necessary, stricter enforcement and clear penalties could improve safety.

“Do we want to ban something in its entirety? Probably not, but if we follow simple rules and regulations and have a one-strike rule in there for operators, they’re not going to miss because if they miss they know they’re out,” he said.

He stressed that Tobago cannot afford another incident.

Efforts to obtain a response from THA officials, including Tourism Secretary Zorisha Hackett, were unsuccessful.