Media release: Strengthening Caribbean fisherfolk to participate in governance

[Anastacia Lee Quay]

 

 

 

For Immediate Release

 

Strengthening Caribbean fisherfolk to participate in governance

 

Port of Spain.  October 20, 2015 - Over 17 fisherfolk leaders from national and primary fisherfolk organisations in 15 CARICOM countries, and resource persons from the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI),  Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO), Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CFRM),  Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies of the University of the West Indies (UWI-CERMES) and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Commission participated in the Third Regional Caribbean Fisherfolk Action Learning Group (FFALG) workshop, during  October 5 - 8, 2014, in Antigua and Barbuda. 

 

During the workshop, participants reviewed the actions implemented under the Strengthening Caribbean Fisherfolk to Participate in Governance project to date; shared experiences and lessons learned in policy influencing from their  participation in various fisheries and related fora at the international, regional  and national levels; and reviewed key fisheries policies (e.g. Small-scale Fisheries (SSF) Guidelines, Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy) and projects (e.g. Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem⁺ Project) and determined the implications for sustainable small-scale fisheries development in the Caribbean. 

 

“ A small group of fisherfolk leaders from Africa, Canada, India and the Caribbean were able to come together, share information, reach agreement  and present our positions in plenary at the meeting” said Nadine Nembhard, Secretary of the CNFO and Co-chair of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples,  regarding her participation in the Global Forum on Rights-based Approaches for Fisheries, in Cambodia, in March 2015.

 

 

Fisherfolk leaders  participating in a working group exercise during the leadership development  training session

 

Participants also took part in a leadership development training session aimed at building the leadership skills of the FFALG members. They undertook a field trip to the fisheries complex at Parham where they interacted with the fisherfolk of the Antigua and Barbuda Spear Fishing Association in identifying problems affecting their livelihoods and proposing likely solutions using a participatory approach.

 

The workshop was convened under the €1,03m  European Union funded Strengthening Caribbean Fisherfolk to Participate in Governance project, which is targeting fisherfolk organisations in the countries of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos. The project  is aimed at improving the contribution of the small-scale fisheries sector to food security in these countries through building the capacity of regional and national fisherfolk organisation networks to participate in fisheries governance and management. It is being implemented by CANARI, working in partnership with UWI-CERMES, Panos Caribbean, CNFO and CFRM.

 

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About CANARI: The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute is a regional, technical, non-profit organisation which has been working in the islands of the Caribbean for more than 30 years.  Our mission is to promote equitable participation and effective collaboration in managing natural resources critical to development.  Our programmes focus on research, sharing and dissemination of lessons learned, capacity building and fostering regional partnerships.

 

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For further information: Please see http://www.canari.org/cm2.asp or contact Terrence Phillips at CANARI at terr...@canari.org or call: 1-868-626-6062

 

Submitted on October 20, 2015