Regional Workshop to bring Technical Experts and Agencies to Montserrat

Technical experts and partnering agencies from across the region are expected to convene here next month for a regional workshop.

The workshop slated for April 18th, gives is an opportunity for its participants to review and validate a draft regional protocol to integrate climate change adaptation and disaster risk management in fisheries and aquaculture into the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy.

The Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy, speaks to development of a fisheries policy that integrates environmental, coastal and marine management considerations, in a way that safeguards fisheries and associated ecosystems from human-induced threats and to mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

Following the workshop it is expected that the document will be refined then tabled at the May 2018 meeting of Caribbean ministers responsible for fisheries and aquaculture, the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism CRFM, which sets policy for the region.

The intent is to have the protocol ready before the start of the next hurricane season, which begins on June 1.

This is a result of a recent agreement between The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which aims put the region on better footing to address the impacts of disasters on fishing communities.