How Caribbean fisheries are teaming up with local and international partners to increase yields and profits

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or the past five years, fisheries in the Caribbean have been quietly transforming their industry. An innovative pilot project, launched in May 2013, brought together regional governments, private sector players and Japanese experts with one common goal – to drive sustainable growth in this vital sector.

COMING TOGETHER

In 2009, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat joined with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the CARICOM Secretariat to develop a master plan on how to sustainably grow fisheries resources for the Caribbean’s coastal communities.

One of the most pressing issues that arose from those discussions was the need for greater collaboration within the islands’ domestic fishing industries. The Caribbean Fisheries Co-Management Project (CARIFICO) was created to meet this need in 2012. Six pilot countries were chosen – Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada – with the hope that success in these states would act as a template for the rest of the region.

The overriding goal of the project was to develop a system of co-management, ie where responsibility for managing fish stocks is shared between government, fisherfolk and the local community. In this way, everyone who benefits from a thriving fisheries sector plays a part in safeguarding it.

A collaborative spirit is vital for small-scale fisheries such as those in the Caribbean, says Milton Haughton, CRFM Executive Director. “Co-management has the potential to provide resource users with a more stable operating environment, a greater say in the decisions that affect their economic activities and ultimately the opportunity to ensure that government policies and programmes are more conducive to improving their welfare and livelihoods.”

TAILORMADE APPROACH

Developing a country-specific approach for each of the six participating pilot states required plenty of discussion, research and feedback. Activities in each country were determined by stakeholders from both the private and public sector, according to their priorities and goals.

Much of the activity under CARIFICO centred around Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs). These are floating objects used to lure in large numbers of pelagic fish. FADs can be made from a variety of materials and designs. They are deployed in the middle of the ocean and draw fish to a focal point where they can then be harvested by fishers. CARIFICO is not just about constructing and using FADs, however; it also encourages stakeholders to use this tool to sustainably manage fish stocks while reducing the impact on the marine ecosystem. “Fishers have worked together to construct, deploy, manage and maintain FADs,” says Haughton. “They have been collecting and reporting scientific data to the government and they have seen their catches and incomes increase.”

Another major part of CARIFICO’s activities involved the practice of ‘ghost fishing’. This occurs when fishing gear is lost and ends up drifting around the ocean, snagging fish, injuring other marine life and damaging reefs. In order to mitigate this, CARIFICO worked with fishers in Antigua and Barbuda to develop a fishing pot with biodegradeable panels that are designed to disintegrate naturally.

In Saint Lucia, where the fisheries sector accounts for one per cent of the country’s GDP, CARIFICO’s work centred around co-management of the queen conch resources with the aim of revitalising stocks.

LESSONS LEARNED

CARIFICO is now drawing to an end, and participants came together in Castries recently to share their success stories. The mood at the event was positive, according to Haughton, who says: “It was very upbeat. We were all pleased by the progress being made and especially the tangible economic and social improvements reported by fishers.”

While it hasn’t always been easy, the project has changed the way fishers and governments collaborate to harvest, and protect, natural resources. “The main challenge was getting fishers and government officials to work together in a deeper and structured manner,” says Haughton. “Fishers historically tend to be individualistic and loners in their activities. For co-management to succeed, fishers must work in a co-operative manner. In each country there were persons who were committed to the project and who worked beyond the call of duty to ensure its success.”

As CARIFICO enters its final phase, the team behind it has drawn up a document that it hopes will chart the way for other countries in the region. The ‘Guidelines for Fisheries Co-management in the Caribbean Region: Good Practices of CARIFICO Participating Countries’ is intended to kickstart a new way of thinking for all Caribbean fisheries.

In the meantime, fishers are carrying forward the lessons learned, skills developed and knowledge acquired, becoming trainers and teachers within their own communities. Haughton says that the project has empowered those who work in the fishing industry, as they were exposed to new methods and techniques. “The Japanese experts worked along with national and regional experts, including local fishers, who received practical training and became leaders, managers and trainers themselves.

“A key feature of the project was the investment in capacity building and training of fishers and government officials who would function as trainers to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to other countries and communities.”

In April 2018, Fisheries Ministers from CRFM member states will meet to deliver the CARIFICO-CRFM Joint Statement on Fisheries Co-management, fully detailing the project’s outcome and way forward. Haughton says: “This is the beginning of a process. The project has given us very useful material to work with going forward. We are in the process of discussing how best to build on the knowledge and experience we have gained over the past four years.” He adds that “concrete policy decisions” are on the horizon and highlights the need for further funding and institutional support.