Anguilla 
Antigua and Barbuda 
Grenada 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Belize 
Dominica 
Guyana 
Haiti 
Jamaica 
Montserrat 
St. Kitts and Nevis 
St. Lucia 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
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Trinidad and Tobago 
Turks and Caicos 
National Report on the Status of Fisheries and Aquaculture in HAITI
INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Haiti occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola while the remaining two thirds, to the east, is the Dominican Republic (David et al, 2021). Haiti has four large islands – Turtle Island, Cow Island, Gonâve Island, and the Cayemites as well as a number of small islands (Figure 1). Its 27, 750 km2 supports a population of 11.5 million people (World Bank, 2022). Haiti’s coastline is ~1,500 km and its continental shelf has an area of ~5,000 km2; there is nearly 20, 000 hectares of natural and artificial water bodies (FAO, 2017). The overall narrowness of the continental shelf is believed to be one of reasons for Haiti’s limited coastal demersal fisheries. Ocean pelagic resources contribute to the majority of the Haiti’s capture fisheries, which is exclusively artisanal.
Artisanal marine fisheries account for more than 82% of total fish production and the introduction of motorized boats and fish aggregating devices (FADs) for fishing offshore led to an increase in fisheries landings (UNCTAD, 2022). The fisheries sector plays an important role in the economy of the country. At the end of 2018, fishing accounted for 13.6 % of gross domestic product (GDP) and provided more than half of the quantities of fish consumed locally. Species targeted include: pelagics such as the Dolphinfish (family Coryphaenidae) and Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans); and demersals such as Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), Common grunt (Haemulon plumierii), Snapper (Lutjanus synagris), Redband parrotfish (Sparisoma aurofrenatum), Longspine squirrelfish (Holocentrus rufus) and Bigeye mojarra (Eucinostomus havana).
HOW TO CITE: National Report on the Status of Fisheries and Aquaculture – Haiti. Contribution 10.9, p 103-108 IN CRFM, 2026. Volume II: National Reports on the Status of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Papers presented at the CRFM 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2023. CRFM Special Publication No. 37, CRFM Secretariat https://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=963
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