Belize City, Tuesday, 2 June 2026 (CRFM)—Amid rising energy costs and growing climate pressures affecting Caribbean Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is ramping up clean energy interventions under the CAD4.324 million STAR-Fish Project: “Sustainable Technologies for Adaptation and Resilience in Fisheries.”

Implementation activities across participating countries—Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname—will focus on strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of fisheries and aquaculture through clean energy solutions and low-carbon development. Planned interventions include the identification and deployment of renewable energy technologies, including cold storage solutions to improve cold chain efficiency, as well as support for selected fisheries to pursue low-carbon certification.

Participants engaged in the “Powering Change: Fueling a Gender-Responsive Energy Transition in Fisheries” training and workshop series held in Grenada during Year 2 of the STAR-Fish Project’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion consultancy implemented by EnGen Collaborative.

At the 2^nd Regional Project Steering Committee Meeting held on 14 May 2026, Sherron Barker, Regional Project Coordinator for the STAR-Fish Project, presented the approved 2026–2027 Work Plan and Budget, which will guide the next phase of implementation. Key near-term priorities include developing viable business models to support investment in clean energy technologies, advancing the conversion of selected fish processing operations, and strengthening market opportunities for low-carbon certified fisheries.

Ms. Ena Ćimić, STAR-Fish Project Lead at the High Commission of Canada to Jamaica, representing Global Affairs Canada (GAC), acknowledged that the Caribbean’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors are important drivers of economic activity, livelihoods, and food security across the region. Addressing the meeting, she noted that, “the sectors also remain highly vulnerable to climate change, rising energy costs, and evolving market demands.”

Ms. Ćimić added: “the activities implemented through this project position STAR-Fish to further strengthen institutional capacity, advance gender-responsive approaches, and support the adoption of sustainable energy technologies within the fisheries and aquaculture sector, while also improving access to finance, enhancing competitiveness, and building resilience to climate and disaster risks across participating countries.”

Reflecting on progress during the previous year, Dr. Marc Williams, Executive Director of the CRFM Secretariat, noted that STAR-Fish advanced key technical workstreams, including renewable energy business model development, carbon footprinting, and low-carbon certification processes. He added that Project Year 2 marked an important transition as the project moved from foundational planning toward more structured and coordinated implementation across participating countries.

Westmoreland, Jamaica Seamoss farmers participated in consultations and capacity-building activities under the “Powering Change: Fueling a Gender-Responsive Energy Transition in Fisheries” initiative implemented through the STAR-Fish Project’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion consultancy led by EnGen Collaborative.

Dr. Williams added: “One of the project’s key achievements during the reporting period was the completion of major activities on gender equality and social inclusion. This work strengthened understanding of gender and social issues associated with the clean energy transition, supported the development of national and regional guidance tools through Gender Action Plans (GAPs) for Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and advanced gender-responsive capacity building and stakeholder engagement across participating countries.”

Ms. Ćimić said that GAC welcomed STAR-Fish’s gender-responsive approach, vital to strengthening national capacities, promoting inclusion, and ensuring that the benefits of the clean energy transition are shared equitably.

“This aligns with Canada’s priorities of advancing gender equality, climate action, and sustainable, inclusive growth, while also supporting expanded trade opportunities in the region,” she said, pledging GAC’s continued support for the CRFM initiative.

Dr. Williams said that the project now enters Project Year 3 with “activities underway, strengthened governance arrangements, and a clearer pathway toward the practical application of renewable energy solutions across fisheries value chains in the Caribbean.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with all of you to support effective implementation and to contribute to a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive Caribbean fisheries sector,” Ćimić affirmed.

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Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, 29 September 2025 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is convening three hybrid events spotlighting the fisheries and aquaculture sector, this week during the 19th Caribbean Week of Agriculture. The annual event, held under the auspices of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, opened at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort on Monday, 29 September 2025.

Hon. Samal Duggins, host Minister for CWA 2025 and the upcoming 16^th Special Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council, addressing the audience at the opening of CWA 2025 in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Host Minister for the weeklong event, Honourable Samal Duggins, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Marine Resources, said in his remarks: “Our region has not always given agriculture the priority it deserves. Too often, it has been seen as a sector of last resort, rather than being recognized as a pillar of sovereignty and a pillar of growth. For too long, our farmers and our fishers—the true heroes of food security—have carried the heaviest of these burdens with too little recognition and too little support.”

He added that, “This week must be remembered as the moment when we moved from words to deeds, the moment we moved from intentions into deliberate actions… Let us leave with commitments rooted in the soil, reflected in our oceans, and lived in the homes of our people.”

On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Minister Duggins will host the 16th Special Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council, which will be chaired by Honourable Kyle Hodge, Anguilla’s Minister of Economic Development, Industry, Commerce, Lands, Planning, Water, and Natural Resources.

Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, Honourable Kyle Hodge of Anguilla (right), with Undersecretary in the Ministry of Agriculture & Marine Resources, The Bahamas, Mr. Montez Williams

The agenda of the CRFM Ministerial Council focuses on items such as the status and trends in fisheries and aquaculture production, trade, and employment; initiatives to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; a new grievance redress mechanism for the CRFM; a regional training and capacity needs assessment being undertaken by the CRFM with support from GRÓ-Fisheries Training Programme (FTP), under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as south-south cooperation with China.

The Ministers will also receive updates and provide policy guidance on regional initiatives to address climate resilience and blue economic growth. These include the Global Affairs Canada-funded Sustainable Technologies for Adaptation and Resilience in Fisheries (STAR-Fish) Project; the GEF/CAF/FAO/CRFM BE-CLME+ Project: Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (BE-CLME+); and the New Zealand Bioeconomy Science Institute: Plant and Food Research Group/CRFM Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean Project.

Also on Tuesday, September 30, starting at 1:00 p.m. in the Saint Kitts (Plenary) Room at the Marriott, the Ministers will be invited to join stakeholders and partners, in person and online, at the final event being implemented under the Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean Project: the Sargassum Seminar titled, From Sargassum to Biostimulant: Sowing Change and Harvesting Resilience.

Then on Wednesday, October 1, starting at 1:30 p.m. in the Dominica Room, the CRFM will partner with the Department of Marine Resources and the National Fisherfolk Organization of Saint Kitts and Nevis to convene the Caribbean Small-scale Fisheries & Aquaculture Forum.

Both technical events—the seminar and forum—will be held in hybrid format, and interested persons can either attend in person or online. Registration is still open via the CRFM’s website (crfm.int).

Finally, the CRFM, through the Canada-funded STAR-Fish project, will mount a renewable energy exhibit at the 30th Agri Open Day & Marine Expo to be held at the Royal Basseterre Valley National Park, Kim Collins Highway, on Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 2, 2025.

– END –

(Photos and video footage courtesy Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Belize City, Thursday, 19 June 2025 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is moving full speed ahead with the implementation of the Canada-funded STAR-Fish Project: “Sustainable Technologies for Adaptation and Resilience in Fisheries.” This CAD 4 million initiative is designed to increase clean energy transition in Caribbean fisheries and aquaculture while building resilience, by addressing the need to improve competitiveness and unleash key economic drivers.

This month, the CRFM Secretariat welcomed two highly experienced project staff: Mr. Sherrón Barker – Regional Project Coordinator, and Mrs. Daintyann Barrett-Smith – Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist.

"The STAR-Fish Project represents an important opportunity to drive innovation and sustainability in Caribbean fisheries. I am honoured to support our partners in delivering real progress on climate resilience, gender equity, and clean energy transition in this critical sector for our region’s economies and communities," Mr. Barker said.

He joined the CRFM Secretariat in Belize City in February 2025, as the Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer under another regional initiative – the GEF/FAO/CRFM BE-CLME+ Project titled, “Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus.” He previously worked as Project Manager for the Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative, at the International Seabed Authority in Jamaica from 2023 to 2024.

In his new role as the Regional Project Coordinator for the STAR-Fish Project, Mr. Barker will oversee and coordinate the implementation of STAR-Fish. He also holds responsibility for planning, implementing, and ensuring the delivery of timely and quality project outputs.

Complementing his work, Mrs. Barrett-Smith will assess environmental and social risks, recommend solutions, ensure compliance with the relevant environmental and social safeguard policies and standards, as well as provide technical support for the implementation of the project and its activities. She will also lead the development of an environmental and social screening checklist for the project. She is furthermore tasked with identifying mitigation and corrective measures which may be required by the project. Of note is that Mrs. Barnett-Smith has also been retained to fill the role vacated by Mr. Barker as the Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer for the BE-CLME+ Project.

In 2024, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) approved the implementation of STAR-Fish—a four-year project which was developed by the CRFM to address climate resilience in the Caribbean. The Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada, has donated CAD 4 million to the project, while the CRFM has committed CAD 324,000 in counterpart funding. Although this project is being implemented in countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA)—namely Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname—the CRFM Secretariat is committed to ensuring that other Member States across the region garner as many spin-off benefits as possible.

The fisheries sector consumes energy across its value chain, particularly for fish processing—cooling, cleaning, drying, and freezing. The STAR-Fish Project seeks to demonstrate that energy costs can be substantially reduced by transitioning to renewable energy technologies. The project intends to ultimately increase clean energy transition in Caribbean fisheries and aquaculture by applying a gender-responsive approach to its interventions, as it supports the certification of low carbon or carbon neutral fisheries in the region and facilitates technical collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The STAR-Fish Project is pivotal for the advancement of the CRFM’s 2022-2030 Strategic Plan. It particularly supports the attainment of Strategic Goal 4, which envisions “Increased use of renewable energy and energy efficient harvesting, processing, and cold storage systems, and reduction of the region’s reliance on fossil fuels in fisheries and aquaculture.”

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About Global Affairs Canada:

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)—under the leadership of the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Minister of International Trade; the Minister of Canada-U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs; and the Secretary of State of International Development—is responsible for advancing Canada’s international relations, including, inter alia: developing and implementing foreign policy; fostering the development of international law, international trade and commerce; and providing international assistance (encompassing humanitarian, development, and peace and security).

Vacancy for a Environmental and Safeguard Specialist  to provide technical support for the implementation of the Star-Fish Project

Vacancy for  a Project Coordinator to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the Star-Fish Project

Belize City, Tuesday, 29 October 2024 (CRFM)—Caribbean ministers responsible for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and the Blue Economy held fruitful deliberations during the 18th Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), convened by the CARICOM Secretariat in partnership with the host country—Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—from 7 – 11 October 2024. The 14th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) concluded with a firm commitment to improve climates-smart blue economic growth from the marine living resources and tackling the state of fisheries and aquaculture in the Caribbean through expanded production across the 17 CRFM Member States, to improve food security and jobs. At the conclusion of the week’s events, representatives of the CARICOM Member States convened the 115th Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), which endorsed significant decisions to strategically accelerate blue economic growth, including aquaculture transformation in our region.

Mr. Milton Haughton, Executive Director, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat; Honourable Josephine Olivia Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Fisheries and Marine Affairs, Culture and Heritage, Agriculture and Religious Affairs, The Turks and Caicos Islands – Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council; and Mrs. Kathy Lockhart, Acting Director of Fisheries, The Turks and Caicos Islands – Chair of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum of the CRFM (Photo: CRFM Secretariat)

“These meetings of regional policy-makers were a crucial opportunity to address some of the most pressing challenges in the blue economy and fisheries sector. The decisions we made will help to protect marine ecosystems while supporting food security and the livelihoods of those who depend on our coastal and marine resources,” said Honourable Josephine Olivia Connolly, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Fisheries and Marine Affairs, Culture and Heritage, Agriculture and Religious Affairs, The Turks and Caicos Islands – Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, in an official statement following the CRFM meeting.

The CRFM Ministerial Council sets the policy direction of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, and it is the highest decision-making body of the organization. The Council is comprised of ministers from the 17 Member States of the CRFM. (Photo: CRFM Secretariat)

During its 14^th Special Meeting, the CRFM Ministerial Council deliberated upon priority policies and actions needed to advance the work of the CRFM and its Member States, building upon the decisions made during the 18th Regular Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council held in April this year.

“Our previous meeting in April 2024 saw significant progress with the adoption of the resolutions that have helped guide our work... We have the opportunity to further advance these initiatives and solidify our commitment to ensuring the sustainability of our marine resources,” Minister Connolly told her fellow ministers at the start of their deliberations.

The Ministers held extensive discussions following a presentation by the CRFM Secretariat on the status and trends of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the CARICOM region, which indicated that for the most recent reporting period (2021/2022), domestic production (which excludes high seas fisheries production) stood at approximately 158,000 metric tonnes, valued at US $575 million. Aquaculture accounts for 6% of this production (8,777 tonnes), while marine capture fisheries in areas under the national jurisdiction of Member States accounts for the remainder.

Honourable Saboto S. Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, highlighted the need for priority attention to be given to boosting production and productivity across the region, particularly from the under-utilized and unutilized resources beyond the coastal waters.

“What percentage of our marine economy is left unharvested that should be harvested, and how [are] we going to set about having an increase in production and productivity to lift our numbers?” he questioned, noting the need for the successes of Member States [such as Grenada in developing their tuna fisheries and Saint Lucia in boosting sea moss aquaculture], to be quickly replicated across the region.

“Grenada is a shining example of what can happen in longline fishing for tuna from a micro-state. Grenada is in the OECS [Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States]; Grenada is in CARICOM; Grenada is covered by the CRFM—so is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica, and the others around the table! Jamaica, for example, did excellent work in aquaculture. Saint Lucia has done excellent work with sea moss production, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we are trying to model what we're doing from Saint Lucia...” Minister Caesar added.

Mr. Milton Haughton, Executive Director, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, noted that growth in aquaculture and the blue economy requires targeted and strategic policy actions and investments. These actions include (i) strengthening capacities at the CRFM Secretariat, the National Fisheries Administrations and private sector of Member States to provide the leadership and expertise needed to steer blue economic growth, including aquaculture development; (ii) mobilizing resources from multilateral and bilateral donors as well as private sector partners to provide the finances and investments needed to modernize the sector and realize blue economic growth; (iii) enhancing regional and national policy and legal and institutional frameworks to incentivize and support the envisioned transformation; and (iv) address biosecurity controls and other technical and marketing challenges to minimize the risk of losses and to build a profitable, resilient and sustainable sector. These necessary actions have been incorporated by the Ministers into the resolutions passed at the conclusion of their deliberations.

Haughton noted that the Caribbean lags far behind in aquaculture production, although globally aquaculture produces most of the seafood (including fish) that people eat. He added that aquaculture production today is mostly done in the marine environment—called mariculture, which is the ideal approach for Caribbean countries, most of which have limited land spaces and freshwater availability but large ocean spaces.

The Ministers requested that the CRFM prioritizes the development of aquaculture regionally and that it prepares a modernization strategy with technical support from a cadre of aquaculture experts from across the region, including persons comprising the CRFM Working Group on Aquaculture.

Another major development discussed during the 14th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council is the innovative work being done by the CRFM and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd, under the New Zealand-funded Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience in the Caribbean Project, to utilize Sargassum, which is a valuable marine resource, to develop a viable and safe biostimulant to enhance plant growth. This initiative to valorize Sargassum was the showpiece of one of the CRFM’s technical events at CWA 2024, held under the theme: Climate Smart Agriculture for a Sustainable Future.

“We have worked with our partners in the region to design a process that gets rid of [virtually all] of the heavy metals, and we have been able to produce this biostimulant that tested and performed very well in the greenhouse and initial field trials with farmers. The field trials are wrapping up, but the initial findings indicate that it has contributed very well to plant growth,” Haughton said.

“This is a win-win situation. We are still at the early stages. We have the product now, and we will be doing further development work in Jamaica with a private sector partner, where we will set up a pilot production plant. We hope that the pilot commercial type operation will demonstrate a viable and efficient production process that will produce a good organic-based fertilizer from… Sargassum that has been a problem and a challenge for us. Fertilizer is a required input by farmers, and it is very expensive. If we can produce an effective fertilizer/bio-stimulant from Sargassum that can help reduce the high import bill of fertilizer, that would be good for our farmers and help to achieve our goal of reducing the region’s large food import bill,” he added.

The Ministers also provided guidance for the development of a CARICOM Regional Strategy for Mainstreaming Global Biodiversity Considerations in Fisheries and Aquaculture Policies and Practices, which should be returned to them for their review and approval at their next meeting due in April 2025.

They also reviewed the progress being made under the GEF/CAF/FAO/CRFM BE-CLME+ Project: Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus, and provided guidance on the way forward to advance several regional initiatives, including a new project funded by Global Affairs Canada titled, Sustainable Technologies for Adaptation and Resilience in Fisheries or the STAR-Fish Project.

To round out their work, the Ministers addressed the need for the CRFM to facilitate strengthened disaster recovery from hurricanes and other severe weather events, such as Hurricane Beryl, a major hurricane which struck several Caribbean islands, including Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Saint Lucia, and Jamaica, in July 2024.

Apart from the Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism hosted two hybrid public events at CWA 2024, with a focus on Promoting Climate-Smart and Resilient Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Sovereignty & Food Security, and a Sustainable & Profitable Future. The Sargassum Seminar on Supporting Climate-Smart Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Agriculture through Product Innovation was held on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, in partnership with Plant and Food Research of New Zealand; while the Caribbean Small-Scale Fisheries & Aquaculture Forum took place on Tuesday, 8 October 2024, at the same venue.

The CRFM Secretariat also partnered with the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Fisheries Services to showcase their work, aimed at strengthening the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector, at the CWA 2024 Tradeshow and Expo which ran the entire week, from 7 – 11 October, at the Kingstown Cruise Ship Terminal.

– ENDS –

Consultancy to develop Implementation Plan and First Year Annual Work Plan for the Sustainable Technologies for Adaptation and Resilience in Fisheries (STAR-Fish) project, funded  by Global Affairs Canada.