Report Of The Regional Policy And Planning Workshop On The Fao Code Of Conduct For Responsible Fisheries Ccrf In The Caribbean

The Regional Policy and Planning Workshop on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) in the Caribbean: "Achieving Improved Fisheries Management and Utilization in the Wider Caribbean Region," which took place at the University of the West Indies, Barbados, on 6-9 December 2011, discussed the constraints encountered when applying the Code in the Caribbean region and identified solutions that would enable stakeholders to further mainstream their policies, strategies and management plans with the Code. The workshop paid particular attention to increasing awareness and capacity in the region on the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF), the International Plan of Action for the conservation and management of Sharks (IPOA-Sharks) and the ongoing work on the Voluntary Guidelines on securing sustainable Small-scale fisheries. The workshop was attended by 11 Caribbean countries and 17 organizations and was co-organized by FAO, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management of Barbados, the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) and the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC). The Conclusions and Recommendations of the workshop were adopted by the workshop participants and have been endorsed formally for the Wider Caribbean Region by the Fourteenth session of WECAFC, which was held in Panama City, Panama, 6-9 February 2012.--

This publication contains the report with selected papers, of the FAO regional workshop, held in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2004, to discuss assistance for Caribbean countries to help develop capacity to implement national plans of action to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (NPOAs-IUU). Issues discussed include: the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, the 2001 International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA-IUU) and technical guidelines to support implementation; and a case study for the development of a NPOA-IUU in a small island developing State

In 2011, the Twenty-ninth Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) recommended the development of international guidelines in support of sustainable small-scale fisheries (SSFs) as a complement to the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. COFI asked that a participatory process be applied in the development of the SSF Guidelines and, thus, a number of national and regional consultative workshops have been undertaken to gather inputs from all stakeholders. The FAO/CRFM/WECAFC Caribbean Regional Consultation on the Development of International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries took place in Kingston, Jamaica, on 6-8 December 2012. It brought together more than 60 representatives from government, regional organisations, academia and civil society to further discuss structure, overall considerations and thematic coverage of the future SSF Guidelines.

This document assembles three reviews of the marine shrimp and groundfish fisheries of the Brazil-Guianas shelf (northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and eastern Venezuela) and one on environmental aspects of the area. Each report contains a number o recommendations for fisheries management, further research and international cooperation in data collection and assessments.

This report contains a record of the proceedings and recommendations of the workshop. It was attended by twenty-one participants from ten Caribbean countries, as well as FAO officers. Possible positive impacts of globalization identified at the workshop include: improved access to overseas markets; increase in intraregional trade; access to technological improvements; increased demand for fish products through further development of tourism; increase in the contribution of the fisheries sector to foreign currency earnings and to gross domestic product. Possible negative impacts were foreseen in terms of: higher prices of exportable fish products in domestic markets; increased pressure on fully or overexploited fish stocks; erosion of decision-making at various levels in the absence of adequate reforms in governance; difficulties on the part of small countries in meeting scales of production needed to compete in a global environment. The main outcome of the workshop is the formulation of a Caribbean Fisheries Agenda on Globalization (CFAG), which is aimed to aid Caribbean countries prepare for the challenges of globalization.

The Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECACF) Data Collection Reference Framework (DCRF) is the first instrument to establish the foundation for comprehensive fisheries data and statistics collection and collation in the WECAFC area. The DCRF will feed the needs of developing, monitoring, assessing and reviewing regional fisheries policies such as fishery management plan as needed by any regional or subregional fishery body.

In view of the importance of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) for biodiversity, and the need to improve individual countries’ capacity to report fisheries-related OECMs and understand how the fisheries sector contributes to current and future area-based biodiversity conservation objectives, FAO has been carrying out a series of activities to support countries to identify and implement OECMs. [Author] These activities include the organization of workshops and the development of practical guidance, as requested by FAO’s Committee on Fisheries (COFI). [Author] With the support of the Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano (Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus [OSPECA]), FAO organized the workshop on other effective area-based conservation measures in fisheries-related areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Author] The workshop was held on 27–28 March 2023 in the city of San José, Costa Rica. [Author] This workshop supported Member Countries of the Commission for Small-scale and Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPESAALC), as well as regional and national fisheries-related organizations in the Latin American and Caribbean regions to: (i) apply CBD criteria for the identification of OECMs; (ii) understand the challenges, opportunities and needs that arise in the identification of fisheries‑related OECMs; and (iii) synthesize lessons learned and obtain recommendations. [Author] To achieve these objectives, topics discussed included: concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation and reporting of OECMs; examples of OECMs in the world; conservation strategies in Latin America and the potential contribution of OECMs to these; the framework for fisheries governance and area-based management in Latin America; Argentina’s progress in recognizing OECMs; and the presentation of four case studies carried out in Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico. [Author] The workshop enabled extensive exchanges on the difficulties of interpreting the concepts and criteria for the identification, evaluation, and reporting of OECMs, as well as the key points, challenges, and difficulties in analysing and considering potential OECMs. [Author]