Laying the Foundation for Blue Economic Growth in the Caribbean: The BE-CLME+ Project

Milton Haughton and Maren Headley

CRFM Secretariat, Princess Margaret Dr., PO Box 642, Belize City, Belize
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ABSTRACT

The marine environment and its highly complex ecosystems and biological diversity are valuable national and regional environmental and economic assets which have been providing the people of the Caribbean with countless benefits in the form of food, employment, trade, culture, recreation and tourism, and social and economic stability of many coastal communities. If these assets are used and managed well, they can make significantly enhanced and sustained contributions to sustainable blue economic development of the region. This paper introduces a recent regional project funded by the GEF, entitled, Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (or the BE-CLME+ Project). The aim of this project is to strengthen the foundation for blue economic growth and development in the region based on the marine living resources, which are valuable economic assets. This is to be achieved through enhanced and expanded investments in marine spatial planning and marine protected areas, the ecosystem approach to fisheries, and sustainable seafood value chain development.

HOW TO CITE: Haughton M. and M. Headley, 2026. Laying the Foundation for Blue Economic Growth in the Caribbean: the BE-CLME+ Project. Contribution 9.3, p626 IN CRFM, 2026. Volume I: Technical Papers. Presented at the CRFM 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2023. CRFM Special Publication No. 37, CRFM Secretariat https://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=954

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Sargassum In The Caribbean: Challenges And Opportunity For Blue Growth Based On The Circular Economy Approach

Mario Ayalon^3*, Milton Haughton², Rosie Paterson-Lima¹, Bruce Searle¹,
Terrell Thompson³, Maren Headley², Christian Genova, Abby Albright, Jaqui Day1

Plant and Food Research¹, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism²,
and Research-Engineer contractor³
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ABSTRACT

Since 2011, the mass of Sargassum in the Caribbean has increased dramatically and resulting in more than three times the normal amount of this seaweed in the region. In 2022, the mass of Sargassum in the region had a record of around twenty-two million tons in July and a similar figure is expected in 2023. Sargassum has a role in the marine ecosystem by providing fish nurseries, shelter for sea turtles and absorption of carbon dioxide. However, large volumes of this seaweed have a negative impact on the tourism sector, fishing industries, coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems, and the health of coastal residents. In 2020 the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade funded a three-year collaborative project, which is being implemented by Plant & Food Research (PFR) of New Zealand and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), to address Sargassum seaweed influxes in affected Caribbean countries. The project has four activity areas: raw material safety testing and harvesting operations review, product and process development, product commercialization strategy development and outreach and supply chain development. The raw material safety testing was done using Sargassum collected in Belize, Barbados, Jamaica, and Dominican Republic. The results confirmed the findings of previous studies that Sargassum has elevated levels of Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead, with concentrations above the maximum allowable limits for human food and animal feed. For the second activity, the project team reviewed twenty-three potential products derived from Sargassum to identify the most suitable for product development and commercialization within the context of the Caribbean environment. Based on the results of the raw material safety testing; the technologies required for harvesting, product development and production; market competition; and regulatory standards in respect of the end-products, the project team selected three products: liquid fertilizer, compost and building materials. The selection of the three products was guided by the circular economy principle of minimum waste generation, mitigation of heavy metal content in accordance with international regulations, and contribution to blue growth in the Caribbean region. Laboratory trials to produce liquid fertilizer and compost started in May 2023. The results obtained will define the operational conditions for production at pilot plant scale of the prototype products and value chains in 2024.

HOW TO CITE: Ayalon M., M. Haughton, R. Paterson-Lima, B. Searle, T. Thompson, M. Headley, C. Genova, A. Albright, and J. Day, 2026. Sargassum in the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunity for Blue Growth Based on the Circular Economy Approach. Contribution 7.3, p517-526 IN CRFM, 2026. Volume I: Technical Papers. Presented at the CRFM 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2023. CRFM Special Publication No. 37, CRFM Secretariat https://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=944 

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BELIZE CITY, 3 APRIL 2020 (CRFM)—The vital need to enhance economic growth and sustainable development in the Caribbean by investing in the blue economy was the focus of a 2-day regional workshop held in Belize City, on 5-6 March 2020. The workshop was organized by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) in collaboration with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to pave the way forward for a new US$46 million project titled, “Promoting National Blue Economy Priorities Through Marine Spatial Planning in the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (BE: CLME+).” The CRFM, an inter-governmental CARICOM agency, is the executing agency for the 4-year project, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a grant of US$6.2 million and co-financing of US$40.1 million.

Government representatives from the six participating countries--Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Panama and Saint Lucia—attended the workshop, while other stakeholders participated remotely via tele-conference. Workshop participants are now working together with the CRFM and co-implementing agencies, CAF and FAO, supported by a consulting team of experts in marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, fisheries value chain and gender, to prepare the detailed project document and work plan. The workshop was also attended by representatives from several regional partners such as CERMES-UWI, SICA/OSPESCA from Central America, the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations and the UNDP/GEF CLME+ Project Coordinating Unit and CLME+ SAP Interim Coordination Mechanism.

“The BE: CLME+ project aims to overcome the barriers to achieving national, climate-resilient and sustainable fisheries in blue economies in the Caribbean,” Dr. Yvette Diei Ouadi, FAO Fishery and Aquaculture Officer and Secretary of Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission, said during the project’s Inception Workshop.

Dr. Lennox Gladden, Belize’s Chief Climate Change Officer, Ministry of Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment and Sustainable Development, underscored the critical value of the BE: CLME+ project towards achieving sustainable economic development and improving resilience in the coastal zone, and the tourism and fisheries sectors, spurring vibrant growth and providing economic and social benefits to enhance the quality of life as envisaged in Belize’s national development policies and plans.

The project’s three components aim to ensure (i) cross-sectoral marine spatial planning; (iii) inclusive sustainable fisheries value chains; and (iii) regional coordination, project management and knowledge management. The intent is that by the end of the project, there would be marine spatial plans developed at both the regional and national levels, as well as blue economy strategies for the participating countries. Furthermore, the project will support the creation and expansion of areas that benefit from effective area-based management, such as marine management areas and marine protected areas that recognize the need for access from a range of stakeholders in a manner that reduces the risk of conflicts.

Mr. Milton Haughton, CRFM Executive Director, noted that, “Marine spatial planning is a tool to create and establish a more rational organization of the use of marine ecosystems and the interactions between their users and uses; to balance demands for economic growth and development with the need to protect the environment and to achieve social objectives in an open and planned way.”

The BE: CLME+ project is being designed by a team that is cognizant of the need for a participatory approach, sensitive to the challenges that now confront the region—ranging from climate change impacts, marine pollution and irresponsible fishing to the coronavirus COVID-19 disease. The team is committed to the need for social inclusion, participation of indigenous groups and gender mainstreaming.

Mrs. Luciana Fainstain, Executive of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and the Bank’s in-house Gender Specialist, acknowledged the need for the project to go beyond women’s issues, considering also the need to incorporate the new masculinities relevant to young men.

The project’s budget includes US$ 25 million in co-financing from the Development Bank of Latin America, to provide lines of credit through national financial institutions to support the development of fisheries value chains. In addition to marine spatial planning, another component of the project focuses on the development of sustainable seafood value chains, which could support innovations in utilizing current catches and discards to make more profitable products, ranging from consumer-friendly value-added seafood products for human consumption, to dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals and beauty products. The third project component focuses on knowledge management and dissemination of experiences and lessons learnt in support of the GEF-funded IW Learn Platform (https://iwlearn.net/) and CLME+ SAP.

The BE: CMLE+ participating countries are among the 32 countries and overseas territories that have endorsed the 10-year Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the sustainable management of shared Living Marine Resources in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+ region), which was developed under a previous GEF-funded project.

Mr. Haughton expressed gratitude to the countries and key partners which have been supporting the initiative and emphasized the need for continued strong partnerships and cooperation among all stakeholders in realizing the potential of the marine sector in the Caribbean.

The Workshop which was organised by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat in collaboration with the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisation (CNFO) with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), brought together stakeholders from the fisheries sector as well as the media to deepen their understanding of the “blue growth concept” on 20 – 21 November 2014, in St. Georges, Grenada.