Concerns were again reiterated over the numerous challenges which can militate against sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector during the recent Caribbean Fisheries Forum held in Nassau.
CRFM Executive Director, Milton Haughton told the gathering during the closing ceremonies that among these, an inadequacy of resources and staffing in the national fisheries departments, the prevalence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; the need to improve sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards to ensure safe, good quality fish and seafood and, therefore improve access to export markets. The Invasion of the invasive Pacific lionfish and climate change were also issues of concern.
“In only a few years this invasive species has spread across the entire Caribbean, causing untold negative impacts on local fish stocks and marine ecosystems. The impact of climate change and climate variability on the fisheries and marine ecosystem, and possible links with the unprecedented large quantities of sargassum seaweed have negatively impacted the fisheries and tourism sectors in 2011.”
The Forum discussed progress to date on the region’s commitment to combat IUU fishing within the framework of the Castries Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. It noted that three regional projects will commence this year with funding under the EU/ACP Fish II Project to implement the Castries Declaration on IUU Fishing.
The Forum also reviewed and endorsed plans for a high level meeting between Ministers responsible for fisheries from the CRFM countries and their counterparts in Central America Fisheries Organisation (OSPESCA). The meeting is intended to foster collaboration between these two regional fisheries bodies and the development of coordinated action to tackle common problems such as the lionfish invasion, illegal fishing and conservation and management of shared fish stocks such as lobster, conch and tunas.
The Caribbean Fisheries Forum, technical arm of the CRFM, concluded its 10th sitting in Nassau, Bahamas on 28 March 2012. The three day forum was held under the Chairmanship of Michael Braynen, Director, Department of Marine Resources, Bahamas. The Bahamas will chair both the Forum and Ministerial Council of the CRFM for the next year.
Delegates from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, were joined by observer and fisheries experts from Bermuda, Bonaire, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations (CNFO), University of the West Indies, University of Southern Mississippi, the USA’s National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EU-sponsored ACP Fish II Project, and the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) Project based in Colombia.
The meeting agreed that all Member States should conduct internal consultations on two recent international treaties concerning fisheries: the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing; and the 2007 International Labour Organisation Convention (C-188) – Working in Fisheries Convention which seeks to ensure decent working conditions for persons working in fisheries. Both treaties were viewed as being of interest to CRFM Member States and fisherfolks, since they dealt with matters that have been identified as important at the regional and national levels in the CARICOM Region.
2012 The Freeport News