CARICOM Countries Assess the Progress of Fisheries in the Region

Contact: Dana Augustin

Monday, November 27, 2000 – Saint Lucia and fellow CARICOM countries are assessing the progress of fisheries in the region over recent years, since establishing the CARICOM Fisheries Resource Assessment and Management Programme (CFRAMP) in 1991. Over the weekend a three-day workshop opened for participants of the CFRAMP programme at the Caribbees Hotel. A total of nineteen Caribbean countries were represented at the workshop. It involved presentations of National Data Collectors, with a view to plotting the way forward for fisheries in the region.

CFRAMP is a regional programme jointly funded by Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and 12 English speaking CARICOM countries, including Saint Lucia. Essentially, the objective of CFRAMP is to promote the sustainable management of fisheries by providing technical assistance, information and support to its participants.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dr. James Fletcher says that the CFRAMP programme has achieved a number of its objectives so far. He pointed to improvements in fisheries data collection and the training component of the programme. Dr. Fletcher says, "Here in Saint Lucia government has invested significantly in the expansion of capacity within the data management unit of the Department of Fisheries. Funding is provided for nine data collectors to operate at various sampling stations around the island and workshops are held twice yearly to train data collection personnel in innovative methodologies and approaches to data collection and management."

According to Dr. Fletcher, the demand for quality fisheries data including fish landing estimates and trends has increased dramatically in recent years. He notes that data collection and interpretation are fundamental to rational development and management of fisheries sectors and underscored the need for a high level of accuracy and regularity in fisheries data and information "if agencies are to invest confidently in the sustainable development of the fisheries sector." Dr. Fletcher added, " We must ensure that our level of resource use is sustainable, that over fished resources are given an opportunity to recover and that we engage in the judicious expansion of under utilized fish stocks."

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