CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque met on Thursday with Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Mr. Milton Haughton and his team of dedicated staff who continue to work with Member States to secure the Region’s invaluable fisheries resources.

The Belize-based CRFM was established in 2003 with a mandate 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 Secretary-General and Executive Director spoke of the importance of strengthening synergies between the CARICOM Secretariat and CRFM, as well as other sister CARICOM agencies, in order to maximize on benefits to the region.

The Secretary-General is due to return to Belize in February, as the country – whose Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow is the new Chairman of CARICOM as of 1 January 2016 – is scheduled to host the 27th Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in the seaside village of Placencia, where fisheries is a mainstay of the local economy.