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CRFM Executive Director speaking with Marianne Sivertsen Næss, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy and Gunnar Stølsvik, Specialist Director at the Blue Justice Secretariat

 

In the photo above: Milton Haughton, CRFM Executive Director (left), with Gunnar Stølsvik, Specialist Director at the Blue Justice Secretariat (center), and Marianne Sivertsen Næss, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy (right)

Photo credit: Peter A. Murray, CRFM

 

Oslofjord, Norway, 18 June 2024--The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and ten of its Member States–The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago– are attending the celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Blue Justice Initiative, being held at the historical site Oscarsborg Fortress in the Oslofjord. CRFM Executive Director, Mr. Milton Haughton, and CRFM Advisor - Fisheries Management and Development, Mr. Peter A. Murray, were among the 130 people who joined Norwegian partners at the event.

In 2018, nine countries came together in Copenhagen, Denmark, to create the Declaration against transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry, known as the Copenhagen Declaration. In 2019, Norway, as the custodian of the Copenhagen Declaration, established the Blue Justice Initiative to assist States attain their aspirations.

In May 2021, the CRFM Ministerial Council at its 15th Regular Meeting adopted the Resolution Regarding the Copenhagen Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry and the Blue Justice Initiative. Since then, 14 CRFM Member States have signed on to the declaration.

Several speakers addressed the gathering at the opening ceremony. Speaking on “Ocean on Norwegian Foreign Policy and Development Cooperation”, Trond Gabrielsen, Director, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that in 2019, Norway launched the Blue Justice Initiative to assist countries with implementing the Copenhagen Declaration. He noted that initially there was only 9 signatories, but today there are over 60 signatories.

Karianne Moen, Head of Section of crime prevention, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, presented “A public administration perspective,” highlighting the need to develop a deeper understanding of other crimes related to the fisheries sector as well as the actions needed to combat illegal activities, including the formulation of international accords, intelligence sharing, and the use of technology to identify and track vessels utilized in illegal fishing and transnational organized crime in the sector.

In sharing “A global fisherman’s perspective,” Sverre Johansen, General Secretary, Norwegian Fisherman Association, underscored that for the majority of fishers who are operating legally, it is important to maintain their ability to compete and to secure their future business. He added that transnational organized crime has a severe effect on the economy, distorts markets, harms the environment, devastates consumer trust, and destroys business.

“How can learning institutions support Blue Justice,” Stig Jarle Hansen, Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, said that the efforts need to be global, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary.

Arve Dimmen, Director Navigation Technology and Maritime, Norwegian Coastal Administration, pointed to the critical importance of interagency collaboration and coordination to leverage the analytical insights derived from satellite and AIS frameworks. She spoke of “The importance of maritime surveillance,” for regulating and monitoring maritime traffic.

Norway's deployment of satellites and antennae networks across 30 locations was noted by Maja-Stina Ekstedt, Vice President Sustainability, KSAT, President NIFRO, among “The technological contribution to solutions.” She emphasized the need for cooperation across jurisdictions, to enhance monitoring of activities across ocean spaces using all available tools.

 

From the left: Tor Glistrup - Consultant Fisheries Inspector; Fatou Bensouda - Gambian Ambassador to Norway; Henrik Fredborg Larsen - Director UNDP Nordic Representation Office; Bjørg Sandkjær - Norwegian State Secretary for the Minister of International Development; Gunnar Stølsvik - Sekretariat of Blue Justice; Delores Kotze - South African Ambassador to Norway; Nina Vaaja - Director of Barents Watch. (Photo: Peter A Murray, CRFM)

 

Speaking at the subsequent Launch of the Global Investigative Ship Tracking User Portal (GLISTRUP), CRFM Executive Director, Mr. Milton Haughton, emphasized the need for urgent, enhanced, concerted measures to prevent, deter, and eliminate all forms of fisheries crimes.

"Fisheries crimes undermine the significant sacrifice that our countries and our law-abiding fishers make in order to conserve and protect the fish stocks and the marine ecosystem. In these difficult times, characterized by high levels of unemployment, high and rising import bills, growing food and nutrition insecurity, rising crime and social ills, as well as the enormous challenges brought on us by the negative impacts of climate change and ocean acidification we just cannot continue to allow our fisheries and ocean resources to be plundered and destroyed, our conservation and management measures to be undermined, and the future of our countries and indeed our children damaged by fisheries crimes," Haughton said.

In October 2021, twelve CRFM Member States signed the Declaration together. Those Member States are The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Turks and Caicos Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. Several of those Ministers participated in the Blue Justice Conference 2023, held 23-24 March 2023 in UN City, Copenhagen, Denmark. On that occasion, two more CRFM Member States—Barbados and Dominica—became signatories to the international declaration.

 

- ENDS -

 


Video of the Celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Blue Justice Initiative and the Launch of the Global Investigative Ship Tracking User Portal (GLISTRUP)

Published in Articles

 

CRFM Member States highlight Caribbean Instruments and new Norway collaboration to address Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry

 

Published Thursday, 4 August 2022 by the CRFM Secretariat

 

Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing (also called IUU Fishing) has been on the radar of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and its seventeen (17)  Member States for more than a decade. The commitment of the CRFM and its Member States to address this very challenging and persistent problem has been unwavering, and the timeline below features the major milestones attained over the past 12 years–the most recent of which is the CRFM’s support of the International Declaration against Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry (also known as the Copenhagen Declaration) and the Norwegian supported Blue Justice Initiative. 

These provide an international framework which complements the Caribbean framework, developed under the auspices of the CRFM, guided at the policy level by its Ministerial Council. 

At a side event at the UN Ocean Conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal on 29 June 2022, the CRFM co-hosted a panel with the Blue Justice Secretariat, Norway and the Blue Justice Initiative on Caribbean and international efforts and mechanisms for combating IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry.

 CRFM and Norway Collaborators at UN Ocean Conference Side Event Jun 2022

 

"It is a very difficult problem that requires enhanced regional and international cooperation and collaboration to effectively eradicate."

 - Dr. Gavin Bellamy, CRFM Representative (Jamaica)


 

Dr. Gavin Bellamy, Chief Executive Officer, National Fisheries Authority, Government of Jamaica, affirmed that “...governments [in the Caribbean Community - CARICOM] have accorded high priority to combating fisheries crime in the region. It is a very difficult problem that requires enhanced regional and international cooperation and collaboration to effectively eradicate.”

Dr. Gavin Bellamy

Dr. Gavin Bellamy

Photo courtesy: Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway

 

He said that, “The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has been coordinating regional efforts to prevent, deter, and eradicate IUU fishing and crimes in the fisheries sector.” He added that despite the progress made, there was still a long way yet to go.

H.E. Bjørnar Selnes Skjæran, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway, describes IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry as a threat to our common future. He cautioned that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be attained unless this problem is addressed.

"Through the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism in CARICOM, no less than 12 [Caribbean] countries have decided to join the [Copenhagen] Declaration… In May 2021, the Caribbean ministers started with a resolution endorsing the Copenhagen Declaration and pledging support for the Blue Justice Initiative as frameworks for regional and international cooperation to combat organized crime in the fishing industry,” H.E. Bjørnar Selnes Skjæran said.

 Bjørnar Selnes Skjæran-2

H.E. Bjørnar Selnes Skjæran

Photo courtesy: Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway 

 

The Caribbean countries are among 48 signatories to the declaration, which was first endorsed in 2018. Since then, Norway–which hosts the secretariat for the Copenhagen Declaration and the Blue Justice Initiative–has led the charge in supporting international efforts to implement the declaration. Its partnership with the CRFM and its Member States took root at Our Ocean Conference in 2019–when the the Blue Justice Initiative was launched–and since then, the CRFM and Norway have continued to partner to address this global problem.

 CRFM-signatories-to-the-Copenhagen-Declaration

Map © 2022 CRFM

 

 

Mr. Gunnar A. Stølsvik-2

Mr. Gunnar A. Stølsvik

Image: CRFM

 

Mr. Gunnar A. Stølsvik, Specialist Director, Fisheries Department at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, said that the Copenhagen Declaration is a political statement and not a legally binding instrument. He added that the declaration recognizes the relevance of the entire fisheries value chain: from capture, to handling and processing, through to sale and the financing of operations.

“To build a [sustainable] blue economy, you have to make sure that the shadow blue economy does not occupy too much of a big space in that economy,” he said.

 

FOCUS ON CARIBBEAN ACTION TO ADDRESS IUU FISHING AND ORGANISED CRIME IN THE FISHING SECTOR

Caribbean Action Timeline on IUU Fishing and TNOC-2022

 

JAMAICA

"There is no simple, no single, no short-term solution to IUU fishing… or to the related organized crime and the networks focusing their commitment and efforts in keeping… the status quo,” said Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, MP - Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, The Government of Jamaica. He added that successful responses will require a holistic and integrated approach where policies are linked to the drivers of IUU fishing.”

 Hon. Pearnel Charles-2

Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr, MP

Photo courtesy: Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway

 

Minister Charles proposed that Jamaica could serve as the regional Blue Justice hub for the Caribbean, and that the sub-regional office for the Blue Justice Initiative could be established in that country.

He said that support within the region and beyond is required to assure success, including independent action by States, bilateral action by adjacent states, and multilateral action by all parties involved in the fight.

The Minister outlined some key actions by Jamaica:

  • Commence implementation of a vessel monitoring system for industrial fleet, with the intent to roll out to the small-scale / artisanal fleet;

  • Strengthening geospatial capacities, including the development of coastal radar mapping capabilities; and the staff of the National Fisheries Authority joining the Blue Justice Initiative and gaining access through secure log-ins to collaborate with others regionally and globally;

  • Advancing efforts to accede to the Port State Measures Agreement, which the Minister said can act as a deterrent by denying services to vessels found to be involved in IUU fishing;

  • Strengthening enforcement capacity through investments in resources for patrol and maritime surveillance;

  • Adopting regional and international arrangements and implementing agreed measures that are consistent with international law.

 

Minister Charles noted the devastating toll that IUU fishing has had on Jamaica, as well as the world. He said that the scourge of poaching, especially by foreigners, “has caused Jamaica billions of dollars in lost earnings and has prevented thousands of Jamaicans from accessing gainful employment.” He said that Jamaica has suffered annual losses of $6 million in direct export earnings and 5,500 jobs, which has had a multiplier effect on families. The country had put in place a 2-year moratorium on the Queen Conch fishery due to poaching, primarily foreigners. 

According to Minister Charles, it is estimated that catches from IUU fishing constitute more than 30% of reported catches, but for some species, IUU fishing may account for up to 3 times the permitted amount.

"The devastating impact of IUU fishing results in overexploitation and the eventual collapse of important fisheries, thereby exacerbating poverty and threatening the livelihoods of the most vulnerable citizens in our country,” the Minister said.

 

BELIZE

Hon. Andre Perez - Minister of the Blue Economy & Civil Aviation, Government of Belize, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impacts on our economies and the increasing threats to our resources by climate change and climate variability make the fight against IUU fishing even more urgent and critical.”

 Hon. Andre Perez-2

Hon. Andre Perez

Photo courtesy: Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway

 

Minister Perez said that it is crucial to adopt new and modern tools in the monitoring and control of the region’s small-scale fishing fleet. He said that Belize–which up to 2022 had declared 11.3% of its marine space as no-take high biodiversity zones–is  one of the few countries that are piloting the use of mobile transceivers on the fishing fleet as a means of combating IUU fishing.

He added that the Belize Fisheries Department and co-managers of marine protected areas had adopted the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) to enhance enforcement in national waters.

Other initiatives which the Belize Minister highlighted are:

  • Enacting a new Fisheries Resources Act in 2020;

  • Establishing the Blue Bond Conservation Agreement in 2021, which supports enhanced monitoring against IUU fishing;

  • Signing the Copenhagen Declaration in 2021;

 

Minister Perez said that the Copenhagen Declaration of 2018 complements the Castries (St. Lucia) Declaration on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, previously signed by members of the CRFM Ministerial Council back in 2010. He also noted other instruments to which Belize had ascribed, including the 2019-2021 Regional Plan of Action on IUU Fishing (RPOA-IUU) for countries that are members of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), as well as the 2018 Strategy to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate IUU fishing in the territorial waters of the Central America region, formulated under the auspices of the Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA). With respect to Belize’s recently enacted domestic fisheries legislation, Minister Perez said that in addition to including high fines and penalties intended to serve as a deterrent against IUU fishing, it also has provisions similar to the Lacey Act of the USA which sets out penalties for violations of laws in other states.

 

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Our oceans have been a major crime scene… and we must pledge and recommit our efforts to act globally in solidarity, so that we can ensure that we bring an end to IUU fishing in our world,” said Hon. Saboto Caesar - Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry & Labour, Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

 Hon. Saboto Caesar-2

Hon. Saboto Caesar

Photo courtesy: Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Government of Norway

  

"I want to send a very clear message to every Member State of the United Nations: for meaningful change to take place, it first begins with a clear expression of the political will to bring about change, and sadly there are still some Member States of the United Nations that have not yet expressed that political will in a way that will benefit the thrust and the effort of others in the fight against IUU fishing,” Minister Caesar stated.

Measures highlighted include:

  • Early adoption of the Port State Measures Agreement and other international agreements;

  • Government spending dedicated to building the capacity of the Coast Guard and to acquire the technical resources needed for monitoring its waters;

  • Banning the harvesting of marine turtles and moving to set both upper and lower size limits for certain species;

  • Advocating against the finning of sharks.

 

Minister Caesar stressed the need for resource mobilization to address IUU fishing and transnational organized crime. He said that bilateral and multilateral platforms and in-country budgets must be mobilized to address the matter.

 


 

CRFM MOVING AHEAD WITH ITS MANDATE

 

Dr. Emma Witbooi - Project Manager, Blue Resilience, The United Nations Development Program, reaffirmed their commitment and partnership. She noted that the UNDP has facilitated country-led Blue Action Dialogues which focus on fostering dialogue and cooperation between institutions and agencies that work to tackle fisheries crime. 

 
Dr. Emma Witbooi

Dr. Emma Witbooi

 Image: CRFM

 “We are delighted to be embarking on the process of working together with various CRFM and CARICOM Member States in initiating these dialogues,” said Dr. Witbooi, reiterating the gratitude of the UNDP for the very fruitful collaboration with the CRFM and CARICOM.

Mr. Joseph Cox, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General, lauded the efforts of the CRFM to synergize with the Government of Norway and other partners, through the Blue Justice Initiative to address the challenges arising from IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the industry. He noted that Article 60 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas–an article dedicated entirely to fisheries management–commits the Member States of the Community to collaborate with each other in the ongoing surveillance of their Exclusive Economic Zone.

Mr. Joseph Cox-2

Mr. Joseph Cox

Image: CRFM

  

To this end, the Caribbean Community has invested in institutions such as the CRFM and CARICOM IMPACS [The Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security] to both improve our collective management of our living marine resources and to bolster regional capacity in security matters,” Mr. Cox said.

“It is clear that a high level of commitment is present. CARICOM leaders have paved the [way] for effective cooperation, sustainable capacity building… in improving the safety of the Caribbean Sea, and the protection and safety of our hardworking fishers and our fisheries industries across Member States,” he added.


 

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#CaribbeanFisheries #IUUFishing #CRFM



 © 2022 Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism

Published in Press release

 

Belize City, Friday, 24 June 2022 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the CARICOM institution designated as the region’s intergovernmental organization responsible for fisheries development and management, is partnering with Norway, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Blue Resilience Project, to host a high-level side event addressing organized crime in the global fisheries industry at the UN Oceans Conference 2022. The side event will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on Wednesday, 29 June.

 

During the high-level side event, which will highlight international and regional measures to address fisheries crime towards reducing food security threats with innovative digital tools and inter-agency capacity support, CRFM’s Executive Director, Mr. Milton Haughton, will chair a panel on CARICOM’s regional instruments to address fisheries crime. This event advances the efforts of partners to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and transnational organized crime in the fishing industry, while protecting food security, employment, and the blue economy.

 

MS-Speakers

 

Hon. Pearnel Charles, Jr, MP - Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica; Hon. Andre Perez - Minister of the Blue Economy & Civil Aviation, Belize; and Hon. Saboto Caesar - Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry & Labour, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, will join in this discussion on fisheries enforcement and the international and regional instruments to cooperatively tackle organized crime in the global fishing industry. Also joining the panel will be Ms. Emma Witbooi, Project Manager of Blue Resilience, UNDP; and Mr. Gunnar A. Stølsvik, Specialist Director, Fisheries Department at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

This is the first time the CRFM is collaborating with Norway to raise the profile of this issue at the UN Oceans Conference, and it serves to strengthen the alliance which began to be forged after the CRFM and its Member States endorsed the International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry (also known as ‘the Copenhagen Declaration’) and affirmed their support for the Blue Justice Initiative. Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are among the 12 CRFM Member States which signed the Copenhagen Declaration in October 2021.

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NOTE TO EDITORS:

 

Website & Registration Link:https://bluejustice.org/un-ocean-conference-2022/

Live stream link: https://app.livecasts.eu/international-and-caribbean-efforts-to-address-organised-crime-in-the-fishing-industry/program

Date: Wednesday, 29 June 2022

Time: 15:45-17:15 CET (equivalent to 8:45 a.m. in Belize, 9:45 a.m. in

Jamaica, and 10:45 a.m. in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.)

 

Follow event on the CRFM’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/CarFisheries

 

Published in Press release

Belize City, Friday, 18 March 2022 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (CARICOM IMPACS) hosted a Technical Meeting on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Organized Crime in the Fishing Industry this week. It marked an important milestone in the region’s efforts to fortify the region’s response to this very challenging and costly problem, through coordinated action at both the national and regional levels, with the support of the Government of Norway and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Blue Justice Initiative.

 

The CRFM, its Member States, and partner agencies both at the CARICOM and international levels committed to advancing their collaboration using modern digital technology, to strengthen the region’s response to illegal fishing and transnational organized criminal activities, such as drugs, human and small arms trafficking, trade in contraband goods, document fraud and forgery, tax crimes, and money laundering, which use commercial and recreational fishing as a cover for their activities.

 

Last October, during a high-level meeting of CRFM Ministers, twelve (12) Member States signed the International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry (also known as the ‘Copenhagen Declaration’). They also endorsed the Blue Justice Initiative, which supports developing countries in operationalizing the Copenhagen Declaration, aimed at “promoting a sustainable and fair Blue Economy for all, that is free from fisheries crime.”

 

The CRFM and CARICOM IMPACS convened the technical meeting of senior fisheries and maritime law enforcement officers to identify priority actions to strengthen regional and international cooperation to combat and eradicate IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the fisheries sector. The event marked an important milestone for the Caribbean region in collectively combating the scourge of crime connected with the fishing sector.

 

Over 90 participants from 15 Member States of the CRFM and representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, the CRFM, CARICOM IMPACS, the Regional Security System (RSS), UNDP and the Government of Norway participated in the virtual session.

 

The meeting featured a diverse array of speakers who provided participants with insights on the Blue Justice Initiative and ‘Copenhagen Declaration, the UNDP Blue Resilience Project and its use of digital technology and institutional cooperation, tools and techniques to detect and analyze fisheries crime, and a general overview of fisheries crime in the Caribbean. Participants engaged in interactive sessions, as they contributed to charting the way forward.

 

In addressing the gathering, Hon. Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour, and Chair of the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, said: “The fight globally has increased against IUU fishing and organized crime, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Member States of the CRFM continue to honor our duty… It is our quest in the Caribbean to partner with all international agencies to ensure that we reduce criminal activities when it comes to the Blue Economy. We intend to work with regional and international partners and other friendly governments such as Norway… because every Member State in the global community must play an important role.”

 

CRFM Executive Director Milton Haughton noted the seriousness and impacts of illegal and criminal activities in the fisheries sector and expressed the CRFM’s appreciation for Norway’s commitment to the sustainable use of ocean resources, through the Blue Justice Initiative and the Copenhagen Declaration. He thanked the Government of Norway and the UNDP for supporting the region in its efforts to help address this intractable problem.

 

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Important Dates:

 

15 October 2018:

The Copenhagen Declaration was initially adopted by 9 countries: Faroe Islands, Ghana, Indonesia, Kiribati, Namibia, Norway, Palau, Solomon Islands and Sri Lanka.

 

10 December 2020:

Several Ministers responsible for Fisheries from the CARICOM / CRFM Member States took part in a virtual High-Level International Blue Justice Conference that was convened by the Government of Norway. The main purpose of the Conference was to promote and advance political support for the non-binding Copenhagen Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the fishing industry.

 

21 May 2021:

At the Fifteenth Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM, Ministers discussed the issues and recognized the need for Member States to cooperate with other affected countries to improve understanding and knowledge of the problem, identify countermeasures, and build capacity to prevent, deter and eradicate IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the fishing industry, in the region and globally. The Ministers issued Resolution No. MC 15(6) of 2021, documenting their position.

 

4 October 2021:

During a special ministerial meeting, several Ministers from the Caribbean Community responsible for Fisheries, the Blue Economy and related matters, delivered official statements endorsing The International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry (also known as the ‘Copenhagen Declaration’). They also affirmed their support for the Blue Justice Initiative, established by the Government of Norway to support implementation of the declaration. (View the proceedings and country statements here.)

 

Twelve (12) CRFM Member States, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and The Turks and Caicos Islands, signed the Copenhagen Declaration on this occasion.

Published in Press release

 

Belize City, Friday, 8 October 2021 (CRFM)—The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), an inter-governmental organization of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), announced this week that several of its Member States in the CARICOM region had signed The International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry, also known as the ‘Copenhagen Declaration’.  The countries simultaneously affirmed their resolute support to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and transnational organized crime in the fishing industry by supporting the Declaration and the Blue Justice Initiative. The Initiative will help to strengthen cooperation among countries and build capacity to address transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry and to combat IUU Fishing.

Speaking at a regional meeting of CARICOM Ministers responsible for Fisheries and Blue Economic Growth on Monday, 4 October 2021, Hon. Saboto S. Caesar, Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labor, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, described the situation as “a very difficult problem,” adding that much needs to be done to tackle this growing threat that has been undermining the progress of the region.

 

Hon. Saboto Caesar hosts Ministerial meeting

Hon. Saboto Caesar hosts high-level Ministerial Meeting.

 

“Available data indicate that IUU fishing accounts for up to 30% of the total global catch, valued at several billions of US dollars…,” Minister Caesar said, adding that “There is a growing body of evidence showing that drug traffickers, human traffickers, small arms traffickers, and traders in contraband goods, among others, are using fishing as a cover to conduct their nefarious activities.”

Minister Caesar said that the CRFM Member States are very grateful for the support and leadership being provided by the Government of Norway in tackling the problem, through efforts such as the Blue Justice Initiative and the Blue Resilience Project.

“We recognize the value of the International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the global fishing industry that was done in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2018. It provides a solid framework for countries like ours in the Caribbean to work together with regional and international partners to better understand the problem, share information, and build the necessary legal, regulatory, monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement capacity to defeat and eradicate transnational organized crime and IUU fishing," Minister Caesar said.

The CRFM Ministerial Meeting was convened during the 16th Annual Caribbean Week of Agriculture to provide an opportunity for Caribbean countries to formally express their support by signing the declaration. Even ahead of the meeting with representatives from the Government of Norway, the CARICOM Secretariat, and other regional and international development partners, CRFM Member States began to express their resounding support for the instruments, and the Ministerial Council issued a resolution after its 15th Meeting held in May 2021, setting the stage for this week’s milestones.

 

Member States have attested to the monumental cost of IUU fishing to the region. Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica, detailed the quantifiable cost on Jamaica’s economy, which has lost billions of Jamaica dollars in earnings as well as thousands of jobs. The devastation caused by IUU fishing forced a 2-year moratorium on the queen conch fishery, implemented from 1 February 2019 to 31 March 2021, to allow the fishery time to recover.

“As it relates to queen conch fishing, it is estimated that over the last 20 years (since the year 2000), Jamaica has lost at least US$284 million due to foreign IUU fishing,” said Minister Shaw, who provided a conservative estimate based on illegal foreign motor fishing vessels caught in Jamaican waters and an extrapolation of the estimated average rate of poaching.

“The closure of the queen conch fishery possibly resulted in annual losses of approximately US$6 million in direct export earnings and loss of jobs for some 5,500 Jamaicans. The multiplier effect, resulting from the loss of jobs and export earnings may be as much as US$20 million during the 2-year period,” Minister Shaw added.

 

Jamaica Minister

 Hon. Audley Shaw, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica, detailed the quantifiable cost on Jamaica’s economy.

  

Jamaica was one of the 12 CRFM Member States which signed the Copenhagen Declaration en bloc this week and simultaneously endorsed the Blue Justice Initiative. As of Friday, 8 October 2021, 12 CRFM Member States had deposited signed instruments with the CRFM Secretariat in Belize City, Belize. Those Member States are The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Turks and Caicos Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago.

"We need to continue to strengthen our collaboration, and I think we will begin to turn the tide on this very difficult issue that we are dealing with—of unlawfulness in the fishing industry and the depletion and degradation of our resources—and to sustainably use and develop these resources for the benefit of our people,” CRFM Executive Director, Mr. Milton Haughton, said, in addressing the Ministers.

Mr. Haughton added that going forward, the CRFM Secretariat will be collaborating with the UNDP and officials from Norway to organize a regional workshop involving technical officials from the Fisheries Departments and Maritime Security Agencies from Member States and Regional Institutions, to map out future needs and identify at least one high priority intervention to be supported under the Blue Justice Initiative.

“This is exciting! I want to take this opportunity to thank all the countries, the Ministers, and the Permanent Secretaries, that signed on to the declaration ... I also want to thank our colleagues from Norway, UNDP, FAO, UNODC, as well as our regional partners: CARICOM IMPACS and the Regional Security System (RSS) for the excellent support and collaboration," the CRFM Executive Director said in closing the meeting.

Published in Press release

 

Belize City, Tuesday, 28 September 2021 (CRFM)— Caribbean Ministers responsible for Fisheries and Blue Economic Growth are scheduled to meet in conference on Monday, 4 October 2021, with representatives from the Government of Norway, the CARICOM Secretariat, and other regional and international development partners. The purpose of the conference, which will be convened virtually by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is to take decisive action to strengthen regional and international cooperation at the political level to combat and eradicate the scourge of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and transnational organized crime in the fisheries sector.

Some Ministers will deliver brief statements on the issues and then sign the International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry, which has already been adopted by 36 other countries. The Caribbean Ministers will set the stage for future action across the region, in collaboration with the Blue Justice Initiative, launched by the Norwegian Government in 2019, in support of the Copenhagen Declaration. The Copenhagen Declaration and the Blue Justice Initiative provide a non-binding international framework for cooperation among States to prevent, combat and eradicate transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry.

Hon. Saboto S. Caesar, Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labor, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, will preside over the Ministerial meeting. Minister Caesar said: “Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing is a major threat to the fisheries resources of the Caribbean Region. It undermines regional and national efforts to sustainably use, manage and protect fish stocks, leading to the loss of both short and long-term social and economic opportunities—including food security, livelihoods, exports and the realization of sustainable and inclusive blue economic growth in the region.”

Mr. Milton Haughton, the Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism said: “The growing connection between illegal, unreported and unregulated (or IUU) fishing and transnational organized criminal activities—such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking, trade in contraband goods, tax crimes, and money laundering, which use fishing as a cover—is an area of increasing concern.”

On 10 December 2020, several Ministers responsible for Fisheries from the CARICOM / CRFM Member States participated in a virtual High-Level International Blue Justice Conference that was convened by the Government of Norway. Subsequently, in May 2021, the 15th Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM, issued Resolution No. MC 15(6) of 2021 expressing support for the Copenhagen Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry and the Blue Justice Initiative. The Ministerial Council outlined the next steps, which include the upcoming high-level, virtual ministerial conference.

Following this Ministerial meeting, the CRFM plans to convene, in collaboration with UNDP, a regional technical meeting with fisheries and security officials from Member States, to map out specific needs and to agree on at least one high-priority intervention that will benefit all CRFM Member States and that could be supported under the Blue Justice Initiative.

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Note to Editors:

Further information on the Ministerial Meeting is available on the CRFM’s website here. Download a PDF copy of this press release here.

The Ministerial Meeting on the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Transnational Organized Crime is one of a series of Ministerial meetings which will be held during the 16th celebration of Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which will be observed virtually for the first time during the week of 4-8 October 2021, under the theme: “Transforming our Food Systems”. The CRFM will also convene the 11th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council on Monday afternoon.

Later in the week, the CRFM will participate in several webinars being hosted during Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which takes place under the aegis of the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu, of which the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is a member.

 

Published in Press release

 

On 21 May 2021, The Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), an institution of CARICOM, adopted a resolution on the Copenhagen Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing industry and the Blue Justice Initiative.

The Ministerial Council of CRFM consists of the Ministers responsible for fisheries from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos Islands.

In the resolution, the Ministers highlighted that IUU-fishing and Transnational Organized Crime in the global fishing industry constitute a serious threat to the security and sustainable use of the living marine resources and marine biodiversity, and that it jeopardizes the food security and blue economic development of the countries in the region.

It was also stated that the Ministerial Council “supports the Copenhagen Declaration and encourages Ministers responsible for fisheries to individually support the declaration and convey their interest in cooperating and benefitting from the Blue Justice Initiative…”

 

International-Blue-Justice-Tracking-Center

The International Blue Justice Tracking Center established in the Arctic town of Vardø (photo: flickr/cc/Mickey Bo)

 

An “International Blue Justice Tracking Center” has been established under the Blue Justice Initiative. The Center will be supported by the joint analytical unit of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries and the Coastal Administration and is located in the town of Vardø.

The Center will be supported by analysts from the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate who will work together with colleagues around the world to produce reports on the movement of fishing vessels and potential illegal fishing operations.

As an important part of the Blue Justice initiative, the Center will also work closely with other partners of the initiative, such as UNODC’s Container Control Programme, UNODC’s Global Maritime Crime Programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Information about it can be seen here: https://bluejustice.org/the-international-blue-justice-tracking-center-established-under-the-blue-justice-initiative-in-the-arctic-town-of-vardo/

 

 


 

ABOUT THE CRFM:

MinisterSabotoCaesarThe CRFM promotes and facilitates the responsible utilization of the region’s fisheries and other aquatic marine resources for the economic and social benefits of the people of the region. The CRFM consists of three bodies: the Ministerial Council, the Caribbean Fisheries Forum, and the CRFM Secretariat.

The chair of the Ministerial Council is Minister Hon. Saboto Caesar of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

 

Published in Press release

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