As bird flu continues to impact egg availability and push up prices, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture in the US Virgin Island Dr Louis E. Peterson has said the Greater Virgin Islands has a unique opportunity to invest in a poultry sector that is protected by the surrounding ocean. Photo: GIS

The H5N1 virus or bird flu, which has affected 166 million birds since 2022 and infected 70 humans in the United States, has been detected in poultry, dairy cattle, and mammals like seals and cats. Photo: Internet Source/File

The vast ocean that surrounds the Greater Virgin Islands can be a protective border against the bird flu virus, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture in the US Virgin Island Dr Louis E. Peterson has said. Photo: VINO/File

Dr Peterson was the guest speaker at the opening of the Agriculture and Fisheries Exhibition at Paraquita Bay on Saturday, March 8, 2025. The exhibition is part of the activities of Agriculture and Fisheries Month.

Commissioner Peterson said he was not speaking at the event because the USVI’s problems related to agriculture are being addressed but because both territories have so much in common.

“I am here today because our theme, your theme, is one that could very well reflect us as well, whether St Thomas, St Croix or St John. Our efforts, like you, are plans that are a work in progress, as well as our plans continue to evolve.”

Agriculture and Fisheries Month is being celebrated under the theme ‘Limited Land, Vast Ocean, Reimagining Food Production through Ingenuity’.

‘Protected’ poultry production

Among the host of recommendations in the agriculture and fisheries sector, Dr Peterson said poultry production is a high recommendation for those with limited land space. He said this includes poultry for layers or broilers.

“And when you think of the challenges right now, as you have heard of, in the US with the bird flu, that creates a situation where we have to think differently."

The H5N1 virus or bird flu, which has affected 166 million birds since 2022 and infected 70 humans in the United States, has been detected in poultry, dairy cattle, and mammals like seals and cats.

“We in the territories of the US and British Virgin Islands, have a unique opportunity, if we think about it clearly, to create poultry sectors that can be very much protected from outside impacts and outside influences,” Dr Peterson said.

“The very sea around us, the vast ocean that surrounds us can be our protective border, once we have the proper programmes in place,” he added.

Dr Peterson also recommended that rabbit production, beekeeping, aquaponics and hydroponic production are other areas that can be considered with the small acreages of land.