CRFM Ministerial Council urges expedited approval of Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy

The 4th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) was held at the CARICOM Secretariat in Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana, on Thursday, October 10, 2013.

At the meeting, chaired by St. Lucia’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Production, Hon. Moses Jn. Baptiste, the CRFM Ministerial Council underscored the important role of fisheries and aquaculture in the CARICOM Region and its contribution to food and nutrition security, employment, and the economic and social well-being of the people of the region.

The Council recalled that the Fourteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held more than 10 years ago in Trinidad and Tobago issued a call for the preparation of a common fisheries policy and regime for the region.

Consequently, the Draft Agreement establishing the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy (CCCFP) was formulated and then unanimously endorsed by the 4th Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM on 20 May 2011, supported by the 38th Special Meeting of the COTED held on 14 October 2011.

Later, the 7th Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council called on all Member States and the CARICOM Secretariat to make every effort to ensure that the Draft Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy is opened for signature by the Conference of Heads of Government at their next meeting.

The Ministerial Council now reiterates its support for the CCCFP and calls on Member States to ensure that their internal consultations are expedited to facilitate this approval.

The Council also discussed a request from the International Tribunal on Law of the Sea for a statement from the CRFM on Case 21, dealing with the issue of IUU fishing, submitted by the Sub-regional Fisheries Commission, Africa.

The case was lodged to look into issues such as the obligations of the flag State in cases where IUU fishing is perpetrated within the Exclusive Economic Zone of third party States, and the extent of the flag State’s liability.

The ministers view this request as indicative of the high regard with which the international community holds the CRFM and its work.

According to the Council, this provides the region with an opportunity to influence international jurisprudence on the question of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing.

In this regard, the CRFM Secretariat had secured the services of Professor Pieter Bekker, Chair of International Law, Dundee University, UK, and a partner in the international law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, to assist with the preparation of the brief on behalf of the CRFM on a pro bono basis.

The Ministerial Council also underlined how important it is for CFRM Member States to participate in the negotiations on the Smallscale Fisheries (SSF) Guidelines, being formulated through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), when the workshop resumes in February 2014.

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.