Ocean researcher and conservationist Veta Wade has been featured in the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s From the Sea Suite, Women in Caribbean Tourism Leadership Magazine.
The 2025 publication, dedicated to celebrating female leadership in the vital tourism industry, highlights the Fish ‘N Fins founder’s work to place local communities at the centre of ocean conservation.
Wade, has spent more than a decade working to strengthen community involvement in marine conservation in Montserrat and beyond.
Her work includes using scientific research, technology and education to help communities better understand and protect their marine environment.
Speaking to ZJB News Ms. Wade expressed her feelings about the feature saying, “it feels like recognition of something that I’ve been trying to build here. Not trying, but building here from Montserrat for years. My own path in ocean research, stewardship and the blue economy, it’s seen…across the region and now it’s recognized within the Caribbean Tourism Authority. For me, there is also something deeply personal about being supported by another black Caribbean woman who sees the value in your work and chooses to make space for it.
She says the recognition is “really for local people having this space to lead and to create and to earn and care for the places that we call home and we love the most. And this feature, for that reason, feels so much more than recognition. It’s a reminder of what becomes possible when we support each other. And I’m proud, so proud, that Montserrat is doing this in its own small way and it’s doing so in a very tangible way too.”
Fish ’N Fins describes its mission as advancing community-based marine conservation while strengthening local capacity and creating opportunities for communities to contribute to global ocean knowledge.