(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Fifteen countries from the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), are participating in a four-day workshop in Jamaica which profiles fisheries management in Region, even as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) finalises negotiation for a Common Fisheries Policy.

The Third Regional Programme Monitoring Training Workshop began on Tuesday 15 November, in Kingston, within the framework of the ACP Fish 11 Programme. The ACP Fish 11 Programme is designed to boost the capacities in fisheries management in 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries over four years, through EUR€30.0M European Union funding.

The workshop, which attracted high level government representatives from CARIFORUM, is part of that larger global project that is also aimed at improving food security and alleviating poverty in the participating countries.

According to Ms Sandra Grant, ACP Fish 11 Programme Regional Manager for the Caribbean, devising sound policies and plans to ensure sustainable use of fisheries and the development of value-added activities are among the success indicators of the Programme.

In addition to improving plans and policies at the regional and national levels, she said the ACP Fish 11 Programme was expected to reinforce the Region’s control and enforcement capabilities; research strategies; regulatory framework; legislation; and knowledge sharing at all levels in the sector.

Within this context, the meeting in Jamaica is seeking to rationalise a common approach to the management of the Region’s fisheries resource toward securing maximum social, economic, and ecological benefits.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica, Honourable Robert Montague said that the meeting followed similar workshops which were also hosted in Jamaica.

He said even as the Region continued to tackle the consistent rise in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities that threatens its sustainability, the workshop and the activities of the ACP Fish 11 Programme were “most welcomed.”

Space was created in the workshop for a Networking Media Session on November 15 which featured presentations from Minister Montague; Chargé d'Affaires, Delegation of the European Union, Ms Helen Jenkinson; the Acting General Council of the CARICOM Secretariat, Ms. Safiya Ali; and the Executive Director Designate of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, Mr Milton Haughton.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Fifteen countries from the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM), are participating in a four-day workshop in Jamaica which profiles fisheries management in Region, even as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) finalises negotiation for a Common Fisheries Policy.

The Third Regional Programme Monitoring Training Workshop began on Tuesday 15 November, in Kingston, within the framework of the ACP Fish 11 Programme. The ACP Fish 11 Programme is designed to boost the capacities in fisheries management in 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries over four years, through EUR€30.0M European Union funding.

The workshop, which attracted high level government representatives from CARIFORUM, is part of that larger global project that is also aimed at improving food security and alleviating poverty in the participating countries.

According to Ms Sandra Grant, ACP Fish 11 Programme Regional Manager for the Caribbean, devising sound policies and plans to ensure sustainable use of fisheries and the development of value-added activities are among the success indicators of the Programme.

In addition to improving plans and policies at the regional and national levels, she said the ACP Fish 11 Programme was expected to reinforce the Region’s control and enforcement capabilities; research strategies; regulatory framework; legislation; and knowledge sharing at all levels in the sector.

Within this context, the meeting in Jamaica is seeking to rationalise a common approach to the management of the Region’s fisheries resource toward securing maximum social, economic, and ecological benefits.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica, Honourable Robert Montague said that the meeting followed similar workshops which were also hosted in Jamaica.

He said even as the Region continued to tackle the consistent rise in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities that threatens its sustainability, the workshop and the activities of the ACP Fish 11 Programme were “most welcomed.”

Space was created in the workshop for a Networking Media Session on November 15 which featured presentations from Minister Montague; Chargé d'Affaires, Delegation of the European Union, Ms Helen Jenkinson; the Acting General Council of the CARICOM Secretariat, Ms. Safiya Ali; and the Executive Director Designate of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat, Mr Milton Haughton.