Prime Minister Mia Mottley has paid an emotional tribute to Chief Fisheries Officer Dr Shelly-Ann Cox, who passed away earlier on Saturday.
In a statement issued this evening, the Prime Minister described her passing as not only absolutely unexpected but also a loss that has left the nation in deep pain.
Reflecting on her contribution, Mottley said the Chief Fisheries Officer gave herself fully to the people and communities she served.
The Prime Minister said Dr Cox passed away “while performing her duties”, just three years and six months after taking up the post. In that short time, she “gave more of herself than many do in a lifetime”, Mottley added.
Mottley described the 37-year-old as a woman driven by purpose, saying she lived and worked with one mission: to improve the lives of the men and women who make their living from the sea.
While Dr Cox was a respected scholar and highly accomplished professional, Mottley said her true greatness was found in the way she served ordinary fisherfolk with compassion, humility and fierce commitment.
“She did not simply work in the fishing industry; she lived for it and for them,” the Prime Minister said.
She added that “every day of her professional life was devoted to ordinary fisherfolk, whose dignity, livelihood and future she guarded with uncommon passion”.
In one of the most powerful parts of her tribute, Mottley said Dr Cox was “an academic of the highest order”, but beyond her qualifications, she was also “the consummate promoter and defender of a sector whose business excited her every passion”.
The Prime Minister said Dr Cox worked tirelessly to uplift the lives of Barbadians who earn their living from the sea, whether in deep waters or along the shore, insisting that their work always be treated with the respect it deserves.
Mottley also praised Dr Cox’s determination to strengthen the fishing industry in the face of the climate crisis and economic uncertainty, noting that she was relentless in pushing for changes that would protect real families and real communities.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in 2024, the Prime Minister said Dr Cox became “the face of the government’s response” to the devastation in the sector.
“She took on the challenge, including the robust language synonymous with the fishing industry, with the quiet dignity, fierce commitment and deep empathy that defined her. She walked the markets, listened to the grievances, absorbed the pain, and still pushed forward to craft responses that were fair, practical and timely. Today, the immense progress that has been made is there for the world to see, and her fingerprints are on every element of that recovery.”
Mottley made it clear that Dr Cox’s loss will not be easily overcome, saying replacing her “will not be an easy task” because she brought not only professional excellence but also heart, conviction and compassion to her work.
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