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St. Kitts and Nevis hosts 17th Meeting of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum

Wednesday 20th March 2019, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), an intergovernmental organization established to promote and facilitate the responsible use of the regions fisheries resources, will convene its annual meeting of the heads of from its 17 Member States. This year, that group of the Caribbean technical experts who make up the Caribbean Fisheries Forum will meet for two days in St. Kitts and Nevis.

The CRFM will convene the 17th Meeting of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum on Wednesday, 20th and Thursday 21st March 2018 at the Bird Rock Beach Hotel in St. Kitts. International and regional partner organizations, observers and stakeholders from the fisheries and aquaculture sector have also been invited to the event, organized in collaboration with the Department of Marine Resources.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources et al, Mr. Alister Edwards will chair the opening ceremony, remarks by Mr. Milton Haughton CRFM Executive Director then the Honorable Minister Hamilton, Minster of Marine Resources et al, presenting the event’s speech. Ms. Rhosyll Jeffers, Assistant Secretary to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Nevis will deliver closing remarks.   

The Director of St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Marine Resources, Mr. Marc Williams will represent St. Kitts and Nevis and is expected to serve as chairman of the Forum at the meeting. Participants will receive an update on the progress of programmes, projects and activities being undertaken by the CRFM and prepare recommendations to be presented to the CRFM’s Ministerial Council when it meets in May 2019 in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Among the areas listed for discussion by the Forum are management plans for key fisheries, co-management of fisheries involving stakeholders and government officials, cooperation with regional and international partners to improve management and sustainable use of marine resources; adaptation to climate change and disaster risk management in fisheries, and measures to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, among others.

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⚠Orange Alert for Kick-em-Jenny

With the recent increase in volcanic activity there has been an upgrade from the yellow status to orange for Kick-em-Jenny volcano.

The Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago states “Kick ’em Jenny is a submarine volcano located 8km north of Grenada (12.18°N, 61.38°W). The volcano is about 1300m high and 300m wide at its summit, which is currently thought to be about 200m below the surface of the sea. As far as we know, Kick ’em Jenny is the only ‘live’ (likely to erupt again) submarine volcano in the Eastern Caribbean. It is also the most frequently active volcano in the region, erupting at least 14 times since it was discovered in 1939. The most recent eruption of Kick ’em Jenny occurred in April 2017. For details of that and previous eruptions go to news archives. The volcano is currently at Alert Level ORANGE.   “ See link for more information http://uwiseismic.com .

Orange alert indicates a particular course of action. Vessels should therefore observe a 5 km exclusion zone from the site of the Kick-em-Jenny volcano. Interesting to note that most of the Lesser Antilles, including St. Kitts and Nevis, began as submarine volcanoes. The activity of this particular volcano gives a real time look at how these islands were formed. Therefore the effects of the volcano can be ground breaking to marine related fields of research.

 

The Ocean Explorer of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has indicated “undersea volcanic activity is a constant process that shapes the features of the ocean” and “Submarine volcanoes are also interesting because of the unique habitats they create. Seamounts are often areas of high biological diversity; their shape acts to deflect food-carrying currents upward, attracting a variety of sessile fauna and the crustaceans and fish that feed upon them. In the late 1970s, scientists were shocked to discover that some animals can even metabolize inorganic compounds emitted during volcanic activity, forming unique communities around hotspots of hydro-thermal venting (similar to geyser activity on land).” For more information http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/volcanoes.html

One frequently asked question from the UWI Seismic Research Centre is;

Can an eruption from the Kick ’em Jenny submarine volcano cause a tsunami? 

Kick ‘em Jenny is a submarine (underwater) volcano located 9 km north of Grenada. Currently, scientists believe that there is a very small chance that an eruption of the volcano would trigger a tsunami. Measurements of the volcano were taken in 2003 and the results showed that the summit (highest point) of the volcano is quite deep below the surface of the sea, too deep for an eruption of the kind normally seen to trigger a tsunami.

 

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6th National Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting

On 13th February 2017 representatives of the Japanese Government and the Department of Marine Resources held its sixth and final National Joint Coordinating Committee meeting at the Old Road Fisheries Complex as they concluded the 5 year Caribbean Fisheries Co-management Project here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Present were Mitsuhiro Ishida and Minoru Tamura from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Wilmot Alleyne, Kharim Saddler, Hazelmay Richards and Ashadi Duncan represented the Department of Marine Resources. Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) Fishers included; Lester Richards, Franklyn Challenger, Winston Hobson, Darwin Francis, Michael Samuel, Roger Ottley, Richard Dorsette and Earl Freeman.

Mr Alleyne gave the welcome remarks with a brief overview of the FAD Fishery over the past several years and the formation of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism. He stated “one of the goals of the CRFM is to ensure sustainability. After endless discussions 3 recommendations were made, one was to have a co-management approach to fisheries which is where we are today which was implemented in May 2013.” There were 6 OECS countries involved in the Caribbean Fisheries Co-management project namely, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica that explored FAD Fishery.

Mr. Saddler introduced Mr. Kareem Wilkin – Department of Fisheries Nevis, who gave an overview of the activities done within the project period and also the equipment and materials received and distributed among the local FAD fishers such as ropes, swivels, buoys, tents and microphones.

Mr. Tamura gave a brief presentation on Guideline for Fishery Co-management “Facilitating Co-Managed Fisheries in the Caribbean: Good Practices and Guidance from the CARIFICO Experience.” He explained the project’s purpose and target levels which were Country level (developing co-management approaches through pilot project), OECS level (Conducting technical exchange and accumulating lessons learned from pilot project) and Regional level (sharing co-management approaches). Guidelines were done by analyzing information from the countries, workshops and training sessions.

Mr. Saddler and members of the St. Kitts Nevis FAD Fisher Association (SKN FFA) had an open discussion about the way forward in FAD fishery. We have seen that there are several levels of co-management we can reevaluate the collaboration between the DMR and fishers. “Now we have to elaborate on what responsibilities the SKN FFA is willing to accept, however it can change as time goes by but this will be our first priority”, said Mr. Saddler.

“The goal of co-management includes the desire to promote fairness, the sustainability of fishery resources and shared governance” said Mr. Tamura. The overall goal is to balance Economic Development and Resource Management. In the fisheries co-management we set 8 activities which were :

  • Fisher Consultations (ongoing)
  • Organization (established)
  • Trainings (ongoing)
  • User Rules (established)
  • Catch Data (collected)
  • User Fee (delayed)
  • Marketing (ongoing)
  • Maintenance (ongoing)
  • Promote attributes of activities listed above (ongoing)
  • Create a Sub-Regional Network (Fishermen exchange in Grenada)
  • Technical Exchange (Workshop in St. Lucia 2017)

 

 

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SKN Coral Reef Report Card Launch

On June 8th, as the world celebrates World Ocean’s Day, six Eastern Caribbean countries mark their commitment to preserving the region’s extraordinary marine ecosystems by launching the first Eastern Caribbean coral reef report cards.

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The Nature Conservancy combined existing data, collected by regional and international scientists, to create individual report cards for six countries. The report cards not only provide information on reefs, but also assess mangrove and seagrass habitats, as well as management strategies to improve these ecosystems. They are a concise, visual and easy-to-understand tool designed to be accessible for audiences from students up to the policy level. The six countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Each report card was created in collaboration with local stakeholders including government partners, and non-governmental organizations.

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The report cards were funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety as part of the Climate-Resilient Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network (ECMMAN) project, which aims to build a regional network of marine managed areas.

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“Report cards are an effective communication tool to consistently track reef health; show the ability of fully protected areas to support more fish; and raise awareness on the importance of protecting coral reefs” said Patricia Kramer, a coral reef ecologist, who led the data synthesis and development of the ECMMAN Report Cards.

 

All of the data and report card scores are also available at Carbinode.org, an online mapping tool where users can surf through data and create maps based on their interests. This allows researchers and scientists to access and share data across the region.

 

Locally, The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society celebrated World Ocean’s Day with a media launch of the St.Kitts and Nevis Coral Reef Report Card.  This media launch was held at Fisherman’s Wharf- an ocean themed restaurant that hovers above the Caribbean Sea. The event was chaired by Tricia Greaux, Marine Management Areas and Habitat Monitoring Officer, who opened with the World Ocean’s Day theme for 2015 – 2016, Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet. The ECMMAN Project overview and Caribnote updates were given by Danielle Moore ECMMAN Outreach Officer.

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Opening Remarks from Natasha Daniel Assistant Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources, and Cooperatives stressed “The Federal Government of St.Kitts and Nevis has given our support and will ensure the marine area surrounding our twin island federation is properly managed for the benefit of all our citizens, residents and visitors.  Hence, it is incumbent on our government to ensure the requisite systems of management and protection are fully established to provide and maintain the livelihoods of our citizens and the sustainability of the resources present in this area. Again, this document is critical to this process. “The vote of thanks was done by Marcia Stubbs, ECMMAN Education and Compliance Officer.

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Stakeholders and members of the press were presented with a video explanation of the SKN Coral Reef Report Card. This would be uploaded on some of the DMR’s social media platforms; www.dmrskn.com, https://www.facebook.com/DMRSKN/,  and on www.youtube.com DMRSKN. Paraphernalia were distributed promoting the awareness of the proposed Narrows Marine Management Area (the channel between St.Kitts and Nevis). Data monitoring teams from each country will continue to fill gaps in data and update information in future versions of the report card.

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Take a look at our Report Card:

 

 

 

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St. Kitts-Nevis represented at (ECMMAN) 4th Advisory and Coordination Committee (ACC) Meeting

The Eastern Caribbean Marine Management Area Network (ECMMAN) 4th Advisory and Coordination Committee (ACC) Meeting is being held on March 9-11th 2016 in The Federation of Grenada.  In attendance was Marine Management Areas + Habitat Monitoring Officer Ms. Tricia Greaux from the St. Kitts-Nevis Department of Marine Resources.

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The objectives of the meeting were:

  • Present and discuss technical and financial reports from each of the ECMMAN Implementing partners – SPAW_RAC/ CaMPAM, OECS Commission, PCI Media Impact, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism / Caribbean National Fisherfolk Organization and The Nature Conservancy.
  • Share experiences on issues, challenges and successes related to the project implementation at the national level in the 6 ECMMAN countries
  • Discuss major activities of ECMMAN for 2016 and life beyond the ECMMAN that will conclude in 2017.

Ms Tricia Greaux, made a very important country report on the progress of St. Kitts and Nevis’ implement successes over past four years.

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