The Belize-based Caribbean Regional

Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) says an agreement has been reached with the

Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Central American Isthmus

(OSPESCA) for increased cooperation in a number of areas.

CRFM said that the accord was reached

earlier this week after Caribbean fisheries ministers met with OSPESCA

officials and agreed to the “Declaration on CRFM-OSPESCA Cooperation for

Sustainable Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Resources”.

It said the agreement signals their resolve

to solidify the cooperation agreed upon during their first joint meeting here

in 2010.

Among the agreed areas of cooperation are

the monitoring and managing Sargassum blooms which have been adversely

affecting the region since 2011; the control of invasive species, with emphasis

on the Pacific lionfish and the development of small-scale fisheries to ensure

the protection of livelihoods and food security.

The renewed alliance will also support the

implementation of fisheries management plans for shared stocks, such as spiny

lobster, queen conch and migratory pelagic species; programmes on climate

change adaptation and disaster risk management in fisheries and aquaculture; as

well as ocean-based fisheries and aquaculture economic activities, including

value chain development.

The CRFM and OSPESCA countries have,

furthermore, pledged to develop coordinated positions on international

processes, such as the listing of threatened and endangered species under

CITES; fisheries subsidies negotiations led by the WTO; and the UN conference

to develop a legally-binding agreement on conservation, management and

sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The CRFM said that in signing the

declaration, the ministers also approved the Second Joint CRFM-OSPESCA Action

Plan (2020 to 2025), which is a five-year roadmap to guide collaborative

programmes and activities agreed in the declaration by the two sub-regional

organisations.

Prior to the meeting with OSPESCA, the CRFM

Ministerial Council held its ninth Special Meeting, at which it approved the

Regional Plan of Action on IUU Fishing for the Western Central Atlantic region,

with a commitment to developing a CARICOM-specific Action Plan.

“The Jamaican delegation pointed out to

their counterparts that IUU fishing recently forced them to impose a moratorium

on their conch fishery, resulting in multi-million-dollar losses for the

country, its export sector and fishers. Their hope is that the collaboration

with OSPESCA will help to effectively prevent and deter IUU fishing in

Caribbean waters,” the CRFM statement said.