Groundfish stock assessment programmes are critical to ensuring that countries can manage their fisheries sustainably, maintain ecological balance, and ensure economic stability, says Dr. Sandra Grant

Technical officers of the CRFM Secretariat, and the FISH4ACP and EAF4SG projects, worked with fisheries experts from 3 CRFM Member States (Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) to conduct the multi-country data-limited assessment (Photo: CRFM)

Belize City, Belize, 23 April 2025 (CRFM)—The Continental Shelf Fisheries Working Group (CSWG)—a technical working group of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) which seeks to foster the sustainable use of continental shelf resources and their associated ecosystems—recently convened a workshop, from 31 March to 4 April 2025, in Paramaribo, Suriname. The workshop focused on the review and analysis of groundfish resources in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Twenty-nine participants from four partner organizations and the three countries attended the event.

Dr. Sandra Grant, Executive Director (Ag.), CRFM Secretariat, said: “The groundfish resources are crucial—both economically and socially—in this subregion. Groundfish supports the livelihoods of local fishing communities and contribute significantly to the national economies of Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. However, like many other countries, they face challenges in maintaining sustainable fisheries due to environmental changes and limited scientific data on the health of their fish stocks.”

Dr. Grant added that the development of groundfish stock assessment programmes is critical to ensuring that these countries can manage their fisheries sustainably, maintain ecological balance, and ensure economic stability.

Ms. Dawn Maison, Technical Specialist, FISH4ACP Guyana, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said: “This workshop provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of stock assessment principles and gain practical skills in applying various methods. The knowledge and tools acquired will be crucial in ensuring the sustainable management of our groundfish resources in their respective countries.”

The CSWG and partners also visited the Marisa Fisheries/Ocean Delight processing plant in Wanica, Suriname, to observe the post-harvest operations, as workers transferred produce from fishing vessels to the onshore facility (Photo: CRFM)

Ms. Nerissa Lucky, Technical and Project Coordinator at the Project Management Unit (PMU), University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, said that the EAF4SG project (Enhancing capacity for the adoption and implementation of Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries [EAF] in the shrimp and groundfish fisheries of the North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem), being executed by the PMU, pledges its continued support.

“We look forward to supporting national fisheries agencies in the region, project partners and industry stakeholders in improving data collection for stock assessments and implementing management recommendations to enhance the livelihoods of fisherfolk and promote sustainable shrimp and groundfish fisheries in the region,” she commented.

“The workshop aimed to build the capacity of Fisheries Division staff from the participating countries in methods that can be applied to assess stock status in data-limited situations, ” explained Dr. Tomas Willems, Head of the Statistics and Research Division, Fisheries Department, Suriname.

The workshop objectives were: (1) to increase understanding of the theory behind stock assessment; (2) to learn how to use stock assessment tools; and (3) to perform preliminary assessments on key shrimp and groundfish species for each country. Dr Willems attested that the workshop met all three objectives and could be considered an important milestone in promoting evidence-based fisheries management.

“CRFM and the EAF4SG project will provide further follow-up to finalize the assessments started during the workshop, ” Dr. Willems added.

Ms. Lara Ferreira, Fisheries Officer, Fisheries Division, Trinidad and Tobago, expressed appreciation, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, through the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, for the technical support received through the CRFM CSWG, with the support of the EAF4SG project.

“Such opportunities for capacity building in R and data-limited stock assessment methodologies are much needed in the region, ” Ferreira added.

During the final day of the workshop, the Suriname Seabob Working Group, which has private sector participation, joined the session, during which presentations were made on the ongoing seabob assessment. They discussed the way forward, including the upcoming Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) audit.

“We thank our partners—the EAF4SG and FISH4ACP projects funded by GEF and the EU and both implemented by the FAO—for their technical and financial support for this workshop,” Dr. Grant concluded.

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INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY: Solid Waste Management Specialist | PADF Caribbean Sustainable Ecosystems Activity

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY: Sustainable Fisheries and Biodiversity Specialist | PADF Caribbean Sustainable Ecosystems Activity

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 –

Belize City, Friday, 4 October 2024 (CRFM)—The innovative work being done under the New Zealand-funded Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience Project, to develop a plant growth enhancer or bio-stimulant from Sargassum, will be showcased during the upcoming Caribbean Week of Agriculture, to be held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The work being done under the project by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research (Plant & Food Research) fits well within the event theme, Climate Smart Agriculture for a Sustainable Future. 

Mr. Milton Haughton, Executive Director, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism Secretariat, said that: “The Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience Project has the potential to make a substantial impact towards the attainment of the CARICOM vision to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25% by 2025 (called ‘Vision 25 by 2025’). This is because a Sargassum-derived fertilizer produced within the Caribbean could ease the financial burden caused by the increasing costs for imported fertilizers. This, in turn, could boost agricultural production for farmers and producers by making their operations more cost-effective. 

Haughton added that, “Using Sargassum in this way mitigates the impacts of the inundations, which include the release of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas which is emitted as the Sargassum decomposes in coastal waters. The Sargassum Products for Climate Resilience Project, therefore, helps the Caribbean to adapt and build resilience to climate change, which is one of the key factors fueling the Sargassum blooms.” 

The CRFM and Plant & Food Research (PFR) are working together to mitigate the environmental and economic impacts of Sargassum influxes in affected Caribbean countries through the creation of inclusive value chains for Sargassum. 

Mrs. Sophie Jones-Williams, Program Manager - International Development, Plant & Food Research, New Zealand, said: "Together with our partners in the Caribbean, we have worked hard to test the efficacy and safety of the bio-stimulant we are developing from Sargassum. Our trials and thorough testing for heavy metal contamination, has ensured confidence that the product we are developing will not only bring benefits through increased yields but also healthy, more resilient production systems." 

Since its inception in 2020, the project has ensured that regional partners are involved in this initiative. The CRFM and PFR have been working in collaboration with researchers at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus in Barbados and Mona Campus in Jamaica) and the University of Belize; the Governments of Barbados, Belize, and Jamaica; as well as the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) of the Dominican Republic, and the private sector, to ensure that the project taps into the best expertise available in the region. 

Based on the successful outcome of prior scientific studies and greenhouse trials for a Sargassum-derived liquid bio-stimulant, the partners commenced field trials earlier this year. In August 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security of Barbados, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy, hosted a Sargassum Liquid Extract Field Day to showcase the progress being made with growing cucumbers using the Sargassum-derived bio-stimulant in ongoing field trials.

 Representatives of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) recently visited a farm in Barbados where the bio-stimulant is being tested on plots of vegetables (Photo: CRFM Secretariat). 

The CRFM and PFR are also working to engage institutional and private sector partners to commercialize and upscale production, based on the successful outcome of the testing and trial phases which are due to conclude by year-end. 

During the upcoming Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), the CRFM and PFR will partner to host the Sargassum Seminar on Supporting Climate-Smart Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Agriculture through Product Innovation. The purpose of this hybrid event—to be held on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, at 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST), at University of West Indies, Open Campus, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and online—is to showcase the innovative work being done to develop a fertilizer and compost from Sargassum seaweed using the principles of the circular economy and the precautionary approach, to ensure safety across the value chain. 

In addition to Haughton of the CRFM and Jones-Williams of PFR, other event speakers include: David Mogollon - EU Head of Cooperation to Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM; Dr. Maren Headley - Programme Manager, Fisheries Management and Development, CRFM Secretariat; and Chadeene Beckles - Value Chain and Marketing Specialist, Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

This seminar is one of two events to be hosted by the CRFM and its partners during the upcoming Caribbean Week of Agriculture, with a focus on the theme, Promoting Climate-Smart and Resilient Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Sovereignty & Food Security, and a Sustainable & Profitable Future. The CRFM will also host the Caribbean Small Scale Fisheries & Aquaculture Forum on Tuesday, 8 October 2024, at 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time (AST), at the same venue. This Forum will provide a space for small-scale fishers to engage with CRFM, Member States representatives, other stakeholders, and partners on matters of key importance to the sector, surrounding the central themes of climate change, food security, and sustainable livelihoods.

The CRFM and PFR will also showcase the project at the CWA Tradeshow and Expo, which will be held at the Kingstown Cruiseship Terminal from 7 – 11 October 2024.. 

– ENDS –

Link to register for the event:

https://forms.gle/VAEEYJ6DPw6rwVjF7

Link to access the project brochure:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VkXyskYUmdovkmWaZlKgSALwom409IeW/view

 Link to project webpage:

https://crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=792&Itemid=499

 The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) has received grant funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under a Project Preparation Facility (PPF) to fund the project titled: “The Road to Resilient Fisheries- Adopting Ecosystems-Based Adaptation in Four CARICOM Member States (R2R Fisheries) Programme”, to be implemented in Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

CCCCC in collaboration with the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) developed a Simplified Approval Process (SAP) concept note for this programme which was endorsed by the GCF in January 2023. To transform the endorsed concept note into a funding proposal, the CCCCC seeks to carry out critical studies to inform the final programme design. The CCCCC is therefore seeking the services of a consulting firm to develop a project preparation package for the proposed programme. The package is to include:

• a Feasibility Study and Programme Design,
• an Environmental and Social Due Diligence Package, and
• a Gender Assessment and Action Plan for the proposed programme

The NEW Deadline for submission is now on or before 2:00 p.m. (GMT- 6) on Friday 20th September 2024.

Learn more here.

The Updated Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy (2024) was approved by the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism at its Eighteenth Regular Meeting held Friday, 26 April 2024.

The Fourteenth Inter-sessional Meeting of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government, held in Trinidad and Tobago on 14 - 15 February 2003, mandated the elaboration of a Common Fisheries Policy and Regime for the Caribbean Community. Subsequently, on 20 May 2011, the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) approved the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy (CCCFP) during its Fourth Meeting held in St. Mary’s, Antigua and Barbuda. Support for the policy was granted by the Seventy-first Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) – Agriculture, held at Georgetown, Guyana, which designated the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism as the Competent Agency for the CCCFP.

This version of the CCCFP contains the 23 original articles and four protocols approved by the Ministerial Council and COTED:

1. 1. 1. The Protocol on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries as the First Protocol under the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy;
      2. The Protocol on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management in Fisheries and Aquaculture under the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy with the changes proposed by the Council;
      3. The Protocol on Aquatic Foods as a Strategic Resource for Food and Nutrition Security under the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy; and
      4. The Protocol under the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy on the Principle of Sustainable Use of Marine Living Resources for Blue Economic Growth and Sustainable Development of CRFM Member States.

At its meeting in April 2024, the Council urged all organs of the CRFM and its Member States to continue their collective efforts, in collaboration with regional and international development partners, to advance the implementation of the CCCFP, as well as the development of any and all additional protocols necessary to attain its stated vision and purpose.

To access the document, click here.