Belize City, (CRFM): The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) is holding its first regional meeting for 2015 this week on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The CRFM is hosting the 24th Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum, one of its advisory arms, from Thursday, 19 February to Friday, 20 February 2015 at the CRFM’s Secretariat Conference Room, located on the 3rd floor of Corea’s Building on Halifax Street in Kingstown.

Dominica currently chairs the Executive Committee of the Forum, and Grenada sits as the vice chair. The other countries represented on the 6-member Committee are Jamaica, Guyana, Montserrat and Barbados (the immediate past chair).

The Committee holds inter-sessional meetings twice a year between sittings of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum, which has representation from all CRFM States. The next meeting of the Forum is due to be held at the end of March in Grenada.

Fish meals are among the Caribbean’s favorites

At its upcoming meeting, the Executive Committee will advance discussions on the management of the region’s key fisheries, and it will also review relevant research data for the industry. In order to help ensure the sustainability of this vital pillar of the Caribbean economy, the CRFM continues to promote cost-effective measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These measures will be among the strategies discussed at the upcoming meeting.

The country representatives will also discuss the plan of action for the implementation for the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy (CCCFP), and they will review the approved CRFM biennial work plan for the period 2014-16, which is approaching its first year of completion on 31 March 2015.

ABOUT THE CRFM
The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) was officially inaugurated on March 27, 2003, in Belize City, Belize, where it is headquartered, following the signing of the “Agreement Establishing the CRFM” on February 4, 2002. It is an inter-governmental organization with its mission being “to promote and facilitate the responsible utilization of the region’s fisheries and other aquatic resources for the economic and social benefits of the current and future population of the region.”

The CRFM consists of three bodies: the Ministerial Council, the Caribbean Fisheries Forum and the CRFM Secretariat. Its members are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.