NAFO Scientific Council Workshop on Precautionary Aproach to Fisheries Management

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OCEANOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR FISHERIES IN
SMALL CARIBBEAN STATES
Robin Mahon
Coastal and Marine Management Program (CaMMP) of
Caribbean Conservation Association and Fisheries
and Environmental Consulting Barbados
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SMALL DEVELOPING STATES IN THE CARIBBEAN
CARICOM RELATED STATES
SMALL STATES ASSOCIATED WITH LARGER STATES
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In this presentation

• About the fisheries

• About the oceanographic information needs

• About institutional arrangements for meeting
  those needs

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Fisheries in small Caribbean states

• Predominantly small-scale, artisanal,
  low-technology

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GILLNETTERS -- SURINAME
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Fisheries in small Caribbean states

• Predominantly at small, dispersed, undeveloped
  landing sites

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JAMAICA FISHING BEACHES
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Fisheries in small Caribbean states

• A small proportion of large-scale commercial
  industrial activity

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TAIWANESE LONGLINER ST. MAARTEN
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Fisheries in small Caribbean states gradually
transforming towards

• More commercially oriented operations

• Run in a business-like fashion,

• Using modern technology

• Operating from modern facilities

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LITTLE TOKYO ST. VINCENT
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CASTRIES FISHERIES COMPLEX ST. LUCIA
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NEW AMSTERDAM CENTER SURINAME
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Types of fishery resources

• Island shelf

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CONCH -- NEVIS
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SEA URCHINS -- GRENADA
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Types of fishery resources

• Offshore

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DOLPHINFISH ST. VINCENT
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YELLOWFIN TUNA -- GRENADA
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Types of fishery resources

• Continental shelf
• Shrimps
• Demersals

• Slopes of island continental shelves
• Snappers

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Status of resources
OVER
FULLY
UNDER
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Fishery management record is poor

• Conventional management has either not been
  implemented or has failed

• Small states have blindly following large country
  management approaches

• Focus on the resource, not on its environment

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Pressure for change in fisheries governance is
growing

• Some internal national/regional level

• Increased civil society involvement by fishers
  and industry

• Increased pressure from non-fishery stakeholders

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• Mainly external/ international

HIGHLY MIGRATORY STRADDLING FISH STOCKS
AGREEMENT

• Fisheries based

• Non-fisheries

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Time of transition for small-scale fisheries
governance

• Stakeholder participation

• Commonsense management by agreement less
  conventional model-based

• Ecologically-based precautionary measures

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The oceanographic information needs

• Oceanographic information has played virtually no
  role in fisheries management and conservation in
  small developing states

• Identify issues and questions not solutions

• These are derived from recollections of
  interaction with fisheries managers not from the
  literature or scientists

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Most shelf organisms have planktonic ELH stages

• Does dispersal affect interdependence of shelf
  areas and need for collaboration in management?

• Can info on dispersal be used to locate MPAs or
  even design a regional system of MPAs?

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Larval transport
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Other transport related questions

• Dispersal of pathogens the 1999 fish kill

• Early life history stages of pelagics dispersed
  or retained?

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Productivity questions

• Does ocean production affect distribution and or
  migration of adult pelagics?

• Large river inputs?

• Other causes of spatial patterns?

• Location of spawning and nursery areas?

• Could this be relevant to ICCAT quota allocations?

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AMAZON INFLUENCE
ORINOCO INFLUENCE
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Variability questions
Marked seasonality of offshore pelagics

• Relationship to migratory pathways and sharing of
  stocks

• Rational deployment of effort

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Variability questions
Characteristic high inter-annual variability

• Availability or abundance

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What institutional arrangements will allow
fisheries in small developing countries to
benefit from oceanographic information?

• Before we set out to acquire new or different
  data we need to formulate questions properly for
  fisheries Less ad hoc

• IOCARIBE LME project (Block B) expects to address
  some of these issues needs close collaboration
  with GOOS

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National level constraints

• Limited funds for acquisition

• Limited national capacity to interpret and apply

• Small fisheries departments with generalists

• Small, new environment departments

• No oceanography departments or oceanographers in
  meteorology departments

• Low priority on ocean science issues

• Often in the domain of foreign affairs

• Poor coordination across Government departments

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Are there regional level options?

• Capacity problems often addressed at regional
  level

• But, new institutions are difficult to establish
  and fund

• What about existing institutions?

• And, what do we want that institution to do?

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In conclusion

• Oceanographic information will continue to play
  little or no role in fisheries management and
  conservation in small developing states without
  institutional capacity at the regional level
  including

• A component that increases the priority of ocean
  related issues at the national level

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THE END. . .
THANK YOU!