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Belize City, Friday, February 7, 2014—Fisheries professionals from member states of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) travel to Kingstown in St. Vincent and the Grenadines next week, to take part in a three-day workshop on the development of a CRFM strategy to improve fisheries statistics, data and information, as they also try to resolve capacity challenges confronting Caribbean countries.

The event, which will focus centrally on present and emerging fisheries information demands, is a joint collaboration of the CRFM and the United Nations University – Fisheries Training Program (UNU – FTP) in Iceland.  It will look at the use of data for economic analysis and fisheries management purposes; the realistic analysis of fisheries data for stock assessment purposes, and future data requirements arising from international markets.

“We want to step back and carefully examine what we have done over the past several years, identify what has worked and what has not worked; identify the weaknesses and constraints, and determine how best to address these,” said CRFM Executive Director, Milton Haughton. “We are taking a more systematic, a more adaptive, and a more comprehensive approach in order to remove the existing constraints that are preventing us from achieving our objectives, and to improve the availability of reliable scientific data and information for decision-making and effective fisheries management.”

Haughton said that they hope to formulate a strategy that countries can agree upon, and use to guide the deployment of their limited human and financial resources in a more strategic and targeted manner.

Participants, who will include fisheries experts from CRFM member states, the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the United Nations University in Iceland and Canada, are expected to come up with new strategies and approaches to improve collection, analysis and management of fisheries statistics in the context of the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy, which identifies this as a priority for Caribbean states.

The joint workshop is in line with a long-term partnership between the CRFM and the UNU – FTP, aimed at building national and regional capacities for fisheries development and management in the region.

The participants are expected to engage in a review and discussion of several relevant activities and reports produced by Caribbean countries. They are also expected to arrive at an agreement on present and emerging fisheries information demands; to make recommendations for appropriate capacity-building options; and to suggest modalities for facilitating the agreed capacity-building schemes.

 

Published in Press release

 

Belize City; Tuesday, February 4, 2014—Seventeen member states of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) are making their voices heard in a milestone international case on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing—dubbed Case No. 21—which is being reviewed by the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS), based in Hamburg, Germany.


According to the CRFM Executive Director, Milton Haughton, “this is a very important international case which should not only contribute to the development of international and domestic law in an area that is important for effective conservation and management of fisheries, but also clarify the law in respect of the responsibility and liability of States and international organizations for IUU fishing.”


To date, more than 20 countries—Saudi Arabia, Germany, New Zealand, People's Republic of China, Australia, Japan, the UK, Chile, the EU, Sri Lanka and the US—and 8 organizations have submitted written arguments on Case No. 21. Those organizations include the CRFM, the Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (OSPESCA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the United Nations.

The latest order from ITLOS sets a deadline of Friday, March 14, 2014, for written submissions to be made in response to these arguments, before a final advisory ruling could be considered.


Case No. 21, lodged last March by the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) (Africa), investigates issues such as the obligations of the flag State in cases where IUU fishing is perpetrated within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of third party States, and the extent of the flag State's liability. The SRFC is located in Dakar, Senegal, and comprises seven member states: Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

In its written statement submitted last November, the CRFM said: “As a matter of general principle, it is the CRFM's view that there should be no lacunae in the obligations and liability of states for IUU fishing activities conducted by entities within their jurisdiction and control...”

Last October in Guyana, the 4th Special Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council, made up of fisheries ministers of participating Caribbean states, discussed the request from ITLOS for the CRFM to submit a statement on Case No. 21. The CRFM Ministerial Council said that this provides the region with an opportunity to influence international jurisprudence on the question of IUU fishing.

The CRFM Secretariat, based in Belize City, had secured the services of Harvard University graduate, Professor Pieter Bekker, chair of International Law, Dundee University, UK; former Professor of law at Columbia University (New York); former staff lawyer at the International Court of Justice (ICJ); and a partner in the international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP – one of the largest law firms in the USA, to assist with the preparation of the brief on behalf of the CRFM. The CRFM has, furthermore, indicated that it intends to have legal representation to make an oral presentation when oral proceedings are eventually held.

In its comprehensive written submission of 112 pages plus annexes, the CRFM, an inter-governmental body for regional fisheries cooperation, said that the most important rights of the coastal state relates to the right to prevent IUU fishing of its resources, such as the right to legislate and enforce its laws, to ensure sustainable development and management of fish stocks, and to take all necessary steps to prevent, deter, eliminate—and punish—IUU fishing in the coastal state's jurisdiction.

The CRFM's views are in line with its overarching mission to promote sustainable use of living marine and other aquatic resources in the Caribbean, by development, efficient management, and conservation of such resources.

The Caribbean fisheries organization also highlighted the duty of countries to manage shared stocks in the EEZ, which requires cooperation between states whose nationals fish within and without the EEZ. As for the question of liability, the CRFM said that it is primarily a question of domestic law, and it is ultimately one to be decided by domestic courts having competent jurisdiction.

On flag State responsibility, the CRFM says that where the flag State has failed to fulfill its obligations and damage has occurred, the flag State may be liable for the actual amount of the damage, but if no damage has occurred, although the flag State was found in breach, the consequences of the wrongful act are determined under customary international law.

Furthermore, the flag State is bound to make the best possible efforts to ensure compliance by vessels flying their flag, within the context of relevant international rules and standards, and domestic laws and regulations, especially those concerning the protection and preservation of the marine environment.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes that, “IUU fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability and responsibility.”

In July 2010, the CRFM adopted the Castries (St. Lucia) Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, in which member States renewed their efforts to establish a comprehensive and integrated approach to preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing, by emphasizing the primary responsibility of the flag State in accordance with international law; and they committed to ensuring that nationals do not support or engage in IUU fishing. CRFM member states also undertook to ensure that they exercise full control over fishing vessels flying their flag, in accordance with international law.

 

Published in Press release

Belize City; Tuesday, February 4, 2014—Seventeen member states of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) are making their voices heard in a milestone international case on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing—dubbed Case No. 21—which is being reviewed by the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS), based in Hamburg, Germany.


According to the CRFM Executive Director, Milton Haughton, “this is a very important international case which should not only contribute to the development of international and domestic law in an area that is important for effective conservation and management of fisheries, but also clarify the law in respect of the responsibility and liability of States and international organizations for IUU fishing.”


To date, more than 20 countries—Saudi Arabia, Germany, New Zealand, People's Republic of China, Australia, Japan, the UK, Chile, the EU, Sri Lanka and the US—and 8 organizations have submitted written arguments on Case No. 21. Those organizations include the CRFM, the Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (OSPESCA), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the United Nations.

The latest order from ITLOS sets a deadline of Friday, March 14, 2014, for written submissions to be made in response to these arguments, before a final advisory ruling could be considered.


Case No. 21, lodged last March by the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) (Africa), investigates issues such as the obligations of the flag State in cases where IUU fishing is perpetrated within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of third party States, and the extent of the flag State's liability. The SRFC is located in Dakar, Senegal, and comprises seven member states: Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

In its written statement submitted last November, the CRFM said: “As a matter of general principle, it is the CRFM's view that there should be no lacunae in the obligations and liability of states for IUU fishing activities conducted by entities within their jurisdiction and control...”

Last October in Guyana, the 4th Special Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council, made up of fisheries ministers of participating Caribbean states, discussed the request from ITLOS for the CRFM to submit a statement on Case No. 21. The CRFM Ministerial Council said that this provides the region with an opportunity to influence international jurisprudence on the question of IUU fishing.

The CRFM Secretariat, based in Belize City, had secured the services of Harvard University graduate, Professor Pieter Bekker, chair of International Law, Dundee University, UK; former Professor of law at Georgetown University; former staff lawyer at the International Court of Justice (ICJ); and a partner in the international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP – one of the largest law firms in the USA, to assist with the preparation of the brief on behalf of the CRFM. The CRFM has, furthermore, indicated that it intends to have legal representation to make an oral presentation when oral proceedings are eventually held.

In its comprehensive written submission of 112 pages plus annexes, the CRFM, an inter-governmental body for regional fisheries cooperation, said that the most important rights of the coastal state relates to the right to prevent IUU fishing of its resources, such as the right to legislate and enforce its laws, to ensure sustainable development and management of fish stocks, and to take all necessary steps to prevent, deter, eliminate—and punish—IUU fishing in the coastal state's jurisdiction.

The CRFM's views are in line with its overarching mission to promote sustainable use of living marine and other aquatic resources in the Caribbean, by development, efficient management, and conservation of such resources.

The Caribbean fisheries organization also highlighted the duty of countries to manage shared stocks in the EEZ, which requires cooperation between states whose nationals fish within and without the EEZ. As for the question of liability, the CRFM said that it is primarily a question of domestic law, and it is ultimately one to be decided by domestic courts having competent jurisdiction.

On flag State responsibility, the CRFM says that where the flag State has failed to fulfill its obligations and damage has occurred, the flag State may be liable for the actual amount of the damage, but if no damage has occurred, although the flag State was found in breach, the consequences of the wrongful act are determined under customary international law.

Furthermore, the flag State is bound to make the best possible efforts to ensure compliance by vessels flying their flag, within the context of relevant international rules and standards, and domestic laws and regulations, especially those concerning the protection and preservation of the marine environment.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes that, “IUU fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability and responsibility.”

In July 2010, the CRFM adopted the Castries (St. Lucia) Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, in which member States renewed their efforts to establish a comprehensive and integrated approach to preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing, by emphasizing the primary responsibility of the flag State in accordance with international law; and they committed to ensuring that nationals do not support or engage in IUU fishing. CRFM member states also undertook to ensure that they exercise full control over fishing vessels flying their flag, in accordance with international law.

Published in Press release

 

CRFM, Belize City, Belize January 30, 2014.    Deputy Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, Susan Singh-Renton, recently attended the Project Preparation Inception Workshop for a project on sustainable management of bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean trawl fisheries (REBYC-II LAC). The Workshop, held during 19-22 January 2014 in Paramaribo, Suriname, brought together fisheries experts representing six countries from the Caribbean and Latin America. The country experts, facilitated by experts from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), discussed plans for the REBYC-II LAC project, which is being proposed for sponsorship by the GEF to the tune of 5.8 million US dollars, with at least 3 times as much co-financing to be provided also by the beneficiary and participating countries and agencies.

REBYC-II LAC arose from the recommendations of an earlier related project, REBYC-I LAC, which was also funded by the GEF and carried out by the FAO during 2002-2008. While the REBYC-I LAC focused more understanding the impacts of trawl gear on the environments in which these gears are used, and also improving fishing technologies to reduce the associated bycatch and adverse habitat impacts, REBYC-II LAC hopes to focus more on the management aspects - that is to say, understanding the nature and usage of bycatch and working towards sustainable management of the bycatch, and the security of the dependent livelihoods.

Key steps in the management process are therefore being targeted in REBYC-II LAC. In particular, the project is expected to develop options to address gaps in policy, legislation, and management planning instruments for supporting sustainable management of the region’s trawl fisheries, while giving due consideration to use of participatory approaches and the FAO’s International Guidelines on Bycatch Management and Reduction of Discards. In addition, there will be continued work on strengthening the technical information base to support management decisions, and analysing livelihood impacts and how to deal with these. The project is also designed to have a clear monitoring and evaluation plan that can satisfy both donor and beneficiary needs, and facilitate sharing of best practices.

CRFM member countries Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are participating in REBYC-II LAC, which once approved by the GEF, is expected to run for five years. As Suriname hosted the Workshop, there was a wide cross-section of representation from the Surinamese fisheries industry in attendance. CRFM Secretariat’s Deputy Executive Director noted that ‘the project comes at a time when the region is working towards achieving a coordinated multi-level ocean governance arrangement on a Caribbean-wide scale, and so it would be important for the project’s planned activities to complement this ongoing initiative that began with the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem project’.

In helping the project to achieve its goals, the CRFM, in collaboration with 2 other regional fisheries bodies (WECAFC and OSPESCA), has agreed to provide its usual regional coordination support, and to help establish a regional decision support system that can connect, and make fullest use of, the proposed improved national trawl fisheries monitoring systems for better overall regional ocean governance. CRFM will also be involved in technical studies to investigate possible solutions to region-wide problems of piracy/ illegal fishing and livelihood security in respect of these fisheries.

Published in Press release

 

        This document presents the results of an institutional assessment of the Caribbean regional climate and modeling agencies  that are central to the implementation of the investment programme of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR).The agencies that are included in this evaluation of the Programme will be the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), University of West Indies (UWI), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH). The report assesses the current institutional capacity of these agencies from the perspective of the sub-components and activities that each is expected to implement.

 

Published in Management Reports

 

        This document presents the results of an institutional assessment of the Caribbean regional climate and modeling agencies  that are central to the implementation of the investment programme of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR).The agencies that are included in this evaluation of the Programme will be the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), University of West Indies (UWI), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH). The report assesses the current institutional capacity of these agencies from the perspective of the sub-components and activities that each is expected to implement.

 

Published in Management Reports
Monday, 13 January 2014 15:20

CTA Project Outputs

 

Date

Author

 

Title

   2013  CRFM  

Report of the CRFM/ CNFO/ CTA Workshop on Regional Fisheries Policies, 7-8 October 2013, Guyana - CRFM Technical and Advisory Document No. 2013/ 7

ISBN#: 978-976-8165-76-3
 

2013

CRFM

 

CNFO Advocacy Strategy and Plan 2013

 

2013

CRFM

 

Role of Fish and Seafood in food and nutrition security - Policy Brief #3

 

2013

CRFM

 

Castries Declaration - Getting Fisherfolk Onboard - Policy Brief #1

 

2013

CRFM

 

Implementing CARICOM`s CFP - Increasing Benefits - Policy Brief #2

 

2013

CRFM

 

Illegal Unreported and Unregualted Fishing - the Caribbean Context - Issues paper #3

 

2013

CRFM

 

Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, Climate Change Adaptation, and DRM - Issues Paper # 2

 

2013

CRFM

 

Adoptation and Implemention of  CARICOM‘s Common Fisheries Policy - Issue Paper #1

 

2013

CRFM

 

Final CRFM-CTA Consultation Report 25 - 28 February 2013 Guyana

 

2013

CRFM

 

Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations Website Refinement

 

2013

CRFM

 

E-Consultation on the Implementation and Mainstreaming of Regional Fisheries Policies into Small-Scale Fisheries Governance Arrangements in the Caribbean

 

2013

CRFM

 

Consultancy on Media Work and Advocancy Campaigns on Fisherfolks' Position on Critical Issues Concerning Implementation of Regional Fisheries Policies in the Caribbean

   2013  CRFM  

Advocacy Strategy and Plan on Fisherfolk’s Positions on Critical Issues concerning the Implementation of Regional Fisheries Policies in the Caribbean

 

ISBN: 978-976-8165-75-6
   2013  CRFM  

Report of the CRFM/CNFO/CTA Consultation on the Implementation and Mainstreaming of Regional Fisheries Policies into Small-Scale Fisheries Governance arrangements in the Caribbean - CRFM Technical Advisory Document No. 2013/2

ISBN: 978-976-8165-72-5

   2009  CRFM  

Updated Directory of Fisheries Stakeholders in the Caribbean. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, No. 2009 / 1

ISBN# 978-976-8165-29-9

   2008  CRFM  

Workbook for the CRFM / CTA Training Workshop on Management, Communication and Advocacy for Fisher Folk Organisations in CARIFORUM. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, No. 2008 / 2, Suppl. 1

ISBN# 978-976-8165-31-2

   2008  CRFM  

Report of the CRFM / CTA Training Workshop on Management Communication and Advocacy for Fisherfolk Organizations. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, No. 2008 / 2

ISBN# 978-976-8165-27-5

   2008  CRFM  

Directory of Fisheries Stakeholders in the Caribbean. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, 2008 / 1

ISBN# 978-976-8165-16-9

   2007  CRFM  

Fisher Folk Organizations in the Caribbean: Briefing Note on Networking for Success. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, No. 2007 / 2

ISBN# 978-976-8165-09-1

   2007  CRFM  

Report of the CTA / CRFM Training of Trainers Workshop for Fisheries Extensions Officers to Enhance their skills to provide better information, advisory and training services to Primary and National Fisher Folk Organizations, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. CRFM Technical & Advisory Document, No. 2007 / 1

ISBN# 978-976-8165-08-4

   2004  CRFM  

CTA/ CRFM/ CARDI Regional Workshop Report on Findings of Organizational Needs Assessment of Caribbean Fisher Folk Organization

       

 

       

 

         
         
       

 

         
         
         
         
         
       

 

         
         
         
         
         

E-CONSULTATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MAINSTREAMING OF REGIONAL FISHERIES POLICIES INTO SMALL-SCALE FISHERIES GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS IN THE CARIBBEAN

Published in CTA Project

Under a Euro 30 million project funded by the European Union (EU) for projects to improve sustainable and equitable management of fisheries and aquaculture in Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States, fisheries officials from CARIFORUM States are receiving training in the use of modern, cutting-edge, information and communication technology tools in their daily activities. 

“The enhanced use of these modern communication and information sharing tools, such as video-conferencing, social networking, tools for online collaborative document preparation and editing, can result in significant cost savings, increased can result 

in significant cost savings, increased productivity and outputs, as well as boost the earnings and income of fishers, and improve competitiveness and profitability within the fisheries and aquaculture sector,” said Milton Haughton, Executive Director, of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, at the launch of a three-day regional training on information and knowledge sharing on sustainable fisheries management in the Caribbean.  


Haughton described the regional training workshop, which opened Monday and runs through to Wednesday, as “another significant milestone in our journey to transform the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and enhance its contribution to national economic development.” 

He said that organizers are providing practical training which they hope will improve capacities and lead to greater integration of Information and Communication Technology tools in all areas of the work of fisheries departments and other fisheries organisations in the region. 

“We intend to do a much better job of communicating with each other, informing ourselves, forging a common vision and being more united in what we do, based on wide participation of stakeholders and the public at large,” Haughton added. “This is why the development and implementation of this communication strategy and enhanced use of ICT is so important at this time.”

 The 6th Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council held in The Bahamas, June 2012, urged the CRFM Secretariat toRevP1030825 strengthen the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to improve the sharing of information and the effectiveness and efficiency in its work.

 PBLH International Consulting SPRL of Brussels, Belgium, is executing the contract to deliver this knowledge sharing project in the Caribbean.

According to Haughton, this week’s training is the 2nd and final regional fisheries workshop on this subject of information and knowledge sharing and enhanced communication among stakeholders in the fisheries sector.

It builds consensus on the goals and targets for the IT component of the CRFM’s new Communication Strategy which was reviewed and updated this January.

Representatives from the CRFM Secretariat and eleven CARIFORUM states are to participating in the training workshop: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

--  End of Release --

 

About the CRFM

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) was officially inaugurated on 27 March 2003, in Belize City, Belize, where it is headquartered, following the signing of the Agreement Establishing the CRFM on February 4, 2002. It is an inter-governmental organization with its mission being “to promote and facilitate the responsible utilization of the region's fisheries and other aquatic resources for the economic and social benefits of the current and future population of the region”. The CRFM consist of three bodies: the Ministerial Council; the Caribbean Fisheries Forum; and the CRFM Secretariat.

Website: http://www.caricom-fisheries.com/

 

ACP Fish II Programme

ACP FISH II is a demand driven programme financed under the 9th European Development Fund aiming at strengthening fisheries management in ACP countries. Its overall objective is to contribute to the sustainable and equitable management of fisheries, thus leading to poverty alleviation and improving food security in ACP states. The specific objective is to strengthen fisheries sectoral policy development and implementation in ACP countries.

For further information on the ACP Fish II Programme, please visit: http://www.acpfish2-eu.org.

The ACP Fish II Programme Regional Manager for the Caribbean Region is Sandra Grant (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 011(501) 223 2974)

 

For More Information

Contact:            

Mr Pablo Lopez-Herrerias - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mrs Justine Schmutz - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mr. Milton Haughton – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Published in Press release

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism Secretariat (CRFM) in collaboration with its partner organization will convene an Advanced Leadership Training Workshop for Heads of Fisheries Department/Divisions in CARICOM States during the period 8 - 12 April 2013 at the Palm Haven Hotel, Castries, St. Lucia.

This workshop is a collaborative initiative between the Belize based CRFM Secretariat, United Nations University –Fisheries Training Programme (UNU-FTP), and the University of Akuyreri, Iceland (UA); the University of Belize (UB), and the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus (UWI), through a grant awarded to the CRFM by the Island Growth Initiative Fund of Iceland.

Published in Press release

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