Belize City, Friday, 26 April 2024 (CRFM)—Ministers of responsible for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and the Blue Economy from Member States of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) deliberated today, Friday, 26 April, at the 18th Regular Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM on the priority actions needed to advance sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, while addressing critical matters such as evidence-based decision-making; climate resilience, including insurance for fishers; illegal unreported, and unregulated fishing; Sargassum seaweed; bolstering regional and global trade; capacity building and knowledge management; and growing the Caribbean blue economy.

Senator the Honourable Avinash Singh, Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Trinidad and Tobago, Outgoing Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, handed over the chairmanship to Honourable Josephine Olivia Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Fisheries and Marine Affairs, Culture and Heritage, Agriculture and Religious Affairs, The Turks and Caicos Islands.

During today’s proceedings, the Ministers approved 32 resolutions providing policy direction and guidance on a wide range of matters such as the updated CARICOM Common Fisheries Policy; training of personnel; improving sanitary and phytosanitary systems for seafood safety and trade; the development of safe products made from Sargassum for use in the agriculture sector; empowering small-scale fishers; collaboration with regional and international development partners; and the assessment and management of various fish species, including pelagic species, shrimp and groundfish, dolphinfish, and flyingfish. The resolutions also addressed the CRFM’s request to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for the RV Dr. Fridtjof Nansen to conduct a comprehensive, independent marine resource survey in CARICOM; combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and fisheries crimes; the World Trade Organization Fisheries Subsidies Agreement; engagement between the CRFM Member States and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA of the USA), regarding recovery of queen conch stocks; and the development of international legally binding instruments on plastic pollution.

The Council also deliberated upon the latest developments with respect to the decision by US authorities to list the Queen Conch as a threatened species under its Endangered Species Act, which has implications for trade. The Council, therefore, provided direction to CRFM Member States for ensuring a coordinated and collaborative approach across the region to the ongoing engagement on the rules and measures that the US authorities would impose to address the conservation, management, and recovery of the species.

The Ministers also provided guidance on several CRFM projects, including the New Zealand-funded Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience Project, being implemented by the CRFM in partnership with the New Zealand Institute of Plant and Food Research, to support valorization and use of Sargassum seaweed; the CAF / FAO / CRFM / GEF Caribbean Blue Economy Project entitled: Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (BE-CLME+ Project), as well as other new initiatives for strengthening climate resilience in the Fisheries sector of CRFM Member States and strategically positioning small-scale fisheries and aquaculture within the Caribbean blue economy landscape.

Another important item on the Ministerial Council’s agenda was improving data collection on Fisheries through strengthening data collection and management systems in CRFM Member States and promoting aquaculture development.

The Executive Director of the CRFM, Milton Haughton, said, “The ocean space and marine resources constitute the most valuable natural resources available to our countries, and we need to continue to accelerate actions to both protect and realize the full potential of these valuable resources, recognizing that pollution, habitat destruction, climate change, and irresponsible fishing pose significant threats to the health and productivity of our oceans and benefits they provide to our economies.” He also expressed satisfaction with the ongoing positive developments in the region in building capacity, strengthening collaboration and partnerships, mobilizing resources, and implementing policy reforms to achieve sustainable development and conservation of the marine resources.

In his opening remarks to the Council, Minister Singh reflected upon the CRFM’s achievements during the past year: “Significant strides have been made. We hosted critical meetings, including the 17th Regular and the 13th Special Meetings of the Ministerial Council, during which we adopted 39 resolutions [and 2 special resolutions intersessionally] aimed at enhancing the management and sustainability of our marine resources. This past year also saw the implementation of 31 capacity-building events, the participation of over 2,300 stakeholders, and the completion of several strategic assessments and surveys that are critical for informed decision-making.”

He added that, “The fisheries and aquaculture sector remains a cornerstone of economic stability and food security in our region, employing hundreds of thousands and contributing significantly to our national GDPs. Our recent data show a promising increase in both production and employment within the sector, reinforcing the importance of our continued focus and investment.”

The latest information compiled by the CRFM Secretariat on the status and trends across Member States indicates that the ex-vessel value of marine capture fisheries production was 527 million US dollars during 2022, as well as 47 million US dollars in value from both inland aquaculture and mariculture, accounting for a total production value of 574 million US dollars.

Fisheries and aquaculture employ roughly 6% of the labor force in CRFM Member States and contribute up to 3% to national GDPs, with an estimated 550,000 workers benefiting through their active participation, including 138,000 employed in direct production and the others engaged in the supply of goods and services. Notably, the estimated growth in employment for the fisheries and aquaculture sector during 2022 was about 3%.

The Council also approved the CRFM’s Whistleblower Policy 2024, and the new biennial work plan and budget for the 2024-2025, intended to promote further growth and sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector across the Caribbean.

Belize City, Monday, 25 April 2022 (CRFM)—Fisheries Ministers from countries that comprise the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) met on Friday, 22 April 2022, at their 16^th Regular Meeting, to advance the institution’s strategic actions to build resilience and boost sustainable fisheries and aquaculture production, through targeted initiatives aimed at maximizing sustainable blue economic growth and improving access to international markets, while tackling the scourge of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and transnational organized crime in the industry.

Ministers highlight importance of blue economic growth in reversing declines in fish production and exports resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and in accelerating regional economic development

Before handing over the mantle of leadership to Suriname, the outgoing chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, Hon. Saboto Ceasar, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Transformation, Forestry and Fisheries of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, emphasized that whereas much had been achieved during the previous year, significant work remained to be done. He informed the meeting that at the 37th session of the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC37) held in Ecuador in March 2022, the CRFM Member States reiterated the request to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for the deployment of the Norwegian Research Vessel (RV) Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, to conduct an independent marine resource survey  of the marine living resources in the waters under the jurisdiction of CARICOM States. During this 16th Meeting of the Ministerial Council, the Ministers reiterated the crucial importance of moving ahead with the research, as it would provide an invaluable evidence base to drive  informed blue economic development across the region, and expedite the region’s economic rebound and recovery from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fisheries and aquaculture sector, which is already beginning to show positive signs of revitalization with more fishers and vessels returning to sea. The Meeting also discussed other ongoing initiatives to strengthen capacity for evidence-based decision making, including the Iceland-funded CARICE Project and FAO/WECAFC-Fisheries Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) partnership.

Hon. Parmanand Sewdien, Suriname’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, elected as the new chair of the CRFM Ministerial, presided over the deliberations. The Ministers received updates on several initiatives being implemented by the CRFM Secretariat and Member States in collaboration with regional and international development partners, in the context of the Third CRFM Strategic Plan, spanning 2022 to 2030. These include the US$48 million CAF-FAO-CRFM-GEF supported project on Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus project (BE-CLME+), which the CRFM hopes will commence later in 2022. The Ministers affirmed that this initiative could contribute greatly to the realization of the target set by the CARICOM Heads of Government at their meeting held during March 2022, to reduce the region’s overall food import bill of around US$5-6 billion by 25% by 2025.

Additionally, the Ministers discussed initiatives which the CRFM and its Member States are undertaking to address the Sargassum inundations that have been affecting the region, including efforts to explore opportunities, through a partnership with New Zealand, to safely harvest Sargassum for the development of products that would enhance the region’s economic and climate resilience. This is being pursued under a three-year project, spanning 2021 to 2023, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and implemented jointly by the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited (PFR) and the CRFM.

The Ministers also dealt with the vital need for strengthening the region’s access to international markets, through enhancing fish and seafood quality and safety, with enhanced sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. The CRFM Secretariat and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), through the 11^th European Development Fund SPS Project, continue to work with Member States and the private sector to build their trading capacity, thereby also contributing to the wider goal of slashing the region’s import bill over the next three years. They also considered the progress of the ongoing negotiations at the World Trade Organisation to prohibit the provision of certain fisheries subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (or IUU) fishing and overfishing.

The Ministerial Council gave the greenlight for the CRFM Secretariat to work with development partners to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer for integrated multitrophic aquaculture—which enables cost-effective and environmentally friendly expansion of aquaculture, including mariculture. The Ministers also welcomed positive news on the progress of activities under the Japan-funded COASTFISH project, which builds upon a previous Japan-funded co-management project in the region, which has strengthened the conservation, management and sustainable use of coastal marine resources through greater involvement of fishers and coastal communities.

The United Nations has declared 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA), to celebrate and improve awareness of the significant role of  small-scale fishers. In welcoming the IYAFA celebrations, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture for employment, livelihoods, food security and nutrition, and health and wellbeing of the people of the region and acknowledged the CRFM’s preparation of a series of activities, including a high-level policy dialogue with fishers to mainstream small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the ongoing blue economy dialogue.

Trinidad and Tobago, represented by Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries – Senator the Honourable Avinash Singh, was elected as vice chair at the meeting and is, therefore, next in line to assume the chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council in 2023, when the CRFM will commemorate the 20^th anniversary since its launch with a series of activities that the Ministers approved during this 16^th Meeting of the Council.

The CRFM Executive Director, Milton Haughton, said that this was a very productive meeting. He noted that the Ministers recognized the urgency of addressing the challenges facing the sector and made several decisions that will contribute to a more sustainable, resilient, and productive fisheries and aquaculture sector and ultimately to improved national and regional economic growth, food security and nutrition, livelihoods and well-being of the people of the region.

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