BELIZE CITY, BELIZE; MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013 –

The Second Joint Meeting of the CRFM/CLME Flyingfish (FF) and Large Pelagic Fisheries (LP) Case Studies Steering Committees will open at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, March 11, 2013, at the Garraway Hotel in Roseau, Dominica.

The maximum total annual landings of flyingfish in the Eastern Caribbean is 4700 metric tonnes, according to information published by the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) project, one of the organizers of the event.

“The flyingfish fishery of the Eastern Caribbean is a shared resource which is exploited by seven countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica and France (Martinique). For these countries, there is a high social and economic dependence on the fishery,” the CLME added.

Speaking of the large pelagic fishery, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism <http://www.caricom-fisheries.com/> (CRFM), which is coordinating the Dominica workshop, noted that, “The region’s highly migratory tuna and billfish resources are exploited by countries from within the region, as well as by foreign nations. In the Insular Caribbean, the fishing of large pelagics is a major tourist and recreational activity although reporting data on this fishery is lacking.”

It added that the case study aims “to develop the information base for improving understanding of selected major large pelagic fisheries, including information on the nature and importance of recreational fishing activities, and to develop recommendations for promoting EAF [Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries] management and governance in respect of large pelagic fisheries.”

Honourable Dr. Kenneth Darroux, Dominica’s Minister of the Environment, Natural Resources, Physical Planning and Fisheries, his Permanent Secretary – Samuel Carrette, and Milton Haughton, Executive Director of the CRFM Secretariat, will address the gathering during the opening ceremonies.

At next week’s meetings, the CRFM/CLME Steering Committees will review and endorse the outputs and recommendations of the two case studies, including the proposed Strategic Action Programme for each of the two Fisheries. The flyingfish case study will be discussed on Monday, March 11, while the large pelagic fishery on Tuesday, March 12.

Participants will include national and regional technical and scientific fishery experts who have responsibility for conducting fishery research and fishery assessment activities, and for formulating fisheries management advice.

The CLME Case Study Steering Committees were established in 2011 to provide guidance to the CRFM and participating States on the implementation of the case studies in keeping with the approved research proposal and grant agreement between UNOPS and the CRFM Secretariat.

*ABOUT THE CRFM:*

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism<http://www.caricom-fisheries.com/>(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<http://www.caricom-fisheries.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=k2y%2b0jOz%2ffY%3d&tabid=56>” 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.  (Visit http://www.caricom-fisheries.com for more information.)