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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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Disaster Risk Reduction for Agriculture

Sub regional training on Agriculture Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Monitoring of the Sendai framework and Sustainable Development Goals from 18th -21st June 2018 in Dominica facilitated by the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO). Representatives from and St. Kitts and Nevis were present Yakima Daniel- Agricultural Planner, Policy and Planning Unit and Tricia Greaux- MMA and Habitat Monitoring Officer, Department of Marine Resources. There were also representatives from other countries like Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Opening ceremony was chaired by Mr Ricky Brumont- Director of Agriculture with remarks given by Mr. Ryan Anselm- FAO Project Coordinator, Mr. Daniele Barelli- FAO Sub Regional Emergency Focal Point and Disaster Risk Management, Dr. Reginald Thomas – Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Dominica.

Day one focused on the introduction of the training, methodology and process with presentations ranging from Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Risk Management and Damage and Loss methodology. Day two comprised of a step by step breakdown of Agricultural damage and loss needs assessment methodology. A methodology simulation exercise that was started during day two continued into day three and the culmination of the workshop zoned in on the Sendai Framework.

Expected outcomes include improving the data collection that would affect policy planning and development within the agricultural sector as well as the marine environment including the St. Kitts and Nevis Marine Management Area (SKN MMA).  These strengthen the national goal of improving food security in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Certificate presented to Yakima Daniel- Agricultural Planner, Policy and Planning Unit

Certificate presented to Tricia Greaux- MMA and Habitat Monitoring Officer, Department of Marine Resources

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Region takes action on Marine Litter

Representatives from the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis are attending the Chile-CARICOM “Workshop on Major Aspects of Coastal Environmental Management” held in Kingston, Jamaica from October 17-20, 2017. The Embassy of Chile, FONDO Chile and the Caribbean Maritime University hosted the workshop with an objective of Marine Litter Action Plans for the participating countries.

During the opening ceremony of the workshop Ms Deniece M. Aiken Vice President, Legal & International Affairs at the Caribbean Maritime University gave remarks. Ms Aiken advocated “we are proud to state that the protection and development of the marine environment is of paramount importance to us…Our university also continues to make strides in supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 14, which Page 3 of 5 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development; and Goal 13, focused on mitigating climate change and its impacts, which have become much closer to home than years aback. As we have recently seen, the number of deaths attributed to natural disasters continues to rise, hence it is important that we implement policies, measures and strategies that will enable us to respond quickly and mitigate these effects as much as possible.”

Participants from each country delivered presentations demonstrating the similarities between states concerning the workshop objectives. Ms Tricia Greaux, Marine Management Area and Habitat Monitoring Officer from the Department of Marine Resources and Ms Thema Ward Physical Planning Officer from Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Environment Department, Nevis presented a country report analyzing the challenges and opportunities present within the coastal space.

Ms Ward commented “Implementation of the local Marine Litter Action Plan will involve multiple government and non- governmental entities on both islands”.  A national effort is needed to reduce the impact of the coastal degradation.

Topics covered within the workshop included; Dumping of Waste at Sea, Marine Environmental Monitoring, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Pollution Prevention, Marine Debris and designing a plan for monitoring marine beach debris. “We hope everyone does their part to reduce land based sources of pollution. Locals should also to assist in the management of the marine environment through compliance laws and actively participating in the education and awareness efforts “said Tricia Greaux.

Workshop session in progress

Documents presented to participating countries

 

Ms Thema Ward and Ms Tricia Greaux, Workshop participants

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