Randolph Walters
Fishery Officer
FAO
Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean
P.O. Box 631-C
Bridgetown,
Barbados
Tel:246 426 7110
Fax:246 427 6075
email:
[email protected]
The FAO designated Western Central Atlantic Fishing Area number 31 (WECAF) lies within the co-ordinates 40 and 95 degrees West, Longitude and 5 and 35 North, Latitude. It is centred on the islands of the Caribbean Sea and bordered on its western extremities by Central American states. The WECAF Fishing Area supports a diverse array of fisheries that exploit more than 100 marine species or species groups. Recent assessments of the fisheries of the area have described them as being from ‘stable or increasing to over-exploited or poorly understood’ (Mahon, 1996; FAO, 1997). Investigators continue to identify the generally poor knowledge of many fish stocks as one of the main, underlying reasons for some of their assessments. Hence there are a number of emerging initiatives to improve that information omission.
The large pelagic resources of the oceans have attracted the attention of a number of international fisheries management bodies, ostensibly because of their highly migratory nature. Approaches to manage these resources internationally, have been made under the “Agreement for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” (10/12/1982) - relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. The 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement, the 1995 UN Fish stocks Agreement, and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries also place unambiguous obligations on countries to co-operate in the exploitation of trans-boundary fisheries resources, to ensure their sustainability.
On-going expansion of the data collection of the International commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) to include non-signatory countries is one such initiative. The activities of the various Ad hoc Working Groups of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) constitute other initiatives to achieve sustainable management of specific resources in the WECAF Fishing area. Those working groups are addressing issues related to: shrimp and ground fish in the Brazil-Guiana shelf, spiny lobsters in the WECAFC area and the flyingfish fisheries of the Eastern Caribbean.
The purpose of this meeting is to extend such attention in the WECAFC area by focusing on a particular fishery (fishing around moored fish aggregating devices) for the large pelagic resources available to the Lesser Antilles countries. Its aim is the formation of an Ad Hoc working group on the development of sustainable fishing around moored fish aggregating devices that target large pelagic species.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The ICCAT Convention (1969) established it is the only fisheries organisation that can undertake the range of work required for the study and management of tunas and tuna-like fishes in the Atlantic'. Such studies were to include research on biometry, ecology, and oceanography, with a principal focus on the effects of fishing on stock abundance.
ICCAT publishes bi-annual data on the status of the large pelagic resources of the Atlantic Ocean. In spite of its wide mandate there remains a low level of participation in ICCAT by countries in the WECAF fishing Area.
WECAFC was created in, 1973, under Article V1-1 of the FAO Constitution, by Resolution 4/61. Its principal objectives were: ‘facilitating and co-ordinating research, encouraging education and training and assisting members in establishing rational policies to promote the management of fisheries resources that are of interest to 2 or more of its members. As members of FAO the countries of WECAFC are required to report their annual fisheries production, from which the data on large pelagic fisheries of the area can be gleaned. FAO fisheries data is published bi-annually in its Yearbook of Fishery Statistics.
The large pelagic fisheries of the WECAF fishing area have been divided into ‘offshore with oceanic distribution’ and coastal with a regional distribution (Mahon 1996, FAO 1997). The former group includes the highly migratory billfishes, tunas, and swordfish species, while the latter group includes the mackerels, black fin tuna, bonito and common dolphin fish species.
The division of these large pelagic species into two groups appears to have been dictated by management expedience, because of the documented overlapping movements (mixing) of the groups. Historically the offshore and highly migratory group falls under the management jurisdiction of ICCAT. The charter of the ICCAT Convention names about 30 species that are of direct concern to its commission. However its activities have been extended, recently, to include collecting data on the by-catch of the tuna fisheries in the convention area. It should also be noted that in addressing the subject of Fish Aggregating Devices, ICCAT recommended an annual ‘closed season for their use during the period 01 November to 31 January annually, in the FAO Fishing Area, number 34 - beginning in1999. The designated site is due East of the WECAF area.
Recent Initiatives to Understand the Large Pelagic Resources of the WECAFA
There are established mechanisms for cooperation between ICCAT and FAO. The ICCAT assessments of Western Atlantic Tunas include the data reported to FAO (FISHSTAT) from non-ICCAT members from the WECAF area. Mahon (1996) reported that more than 50 % of the WECAF members may be incorrectly reporting or under-reporting to FAO. Mahon also observed that many countries included significant quantities of pelagic species in an aggregate category as ‘unspecified pelagic or marine finfish’.
An ongoing Technical Cooperation Project “Preparation for an Expansion of the Domestic fisheries for Large Pelagics” (TCP/RLA/0070) is being implemented among mostly non-ICCAT-Caribbean countries to:
explore the feasibility of expanding their domestic fisheries for large pelagic species;
explore the feasibility of formulating a common subregional management strategy for large pelagics and or joining a relevant organisation such as ICCAT; and
produce a draft agreement by participating countries on common approaches and positions with regard to the role of different regional and international fisheries management arrangements, in relation to the fisheries of large coastal and oceanic pelagic species.
The project will also provide an opportunity to document any changes in the previously observed mis-classification of large pelagic species.
A tradition of fishing for pelagic species (both highly migratory and coastal) around drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD) has been well established in the insular Caribbean. Interest in using moored FAD to exploit the large pelagic species has been more tentative, and sporadic, among the islands; information on the extent of use and the landings from moored FAD fishing has not been readily available from most of the countries.
Expected Outputs of the Present Meeting
The overarching output expected from this meeting is an agreement to submit a proposal for the formal establishment of an Ad hoc Working Group on Sustainable FAD fishing in the Lesser Antilles to the X meeting of the WECAFC for its consideration.
It is also expected that the meeting will produce the first synthesis of the available information on the extent and status of moored FAD fishing in the Lesser Antilles; and
Pivotal to the primary objective of ‘developing sustainable FAD Fishing’ in the subregion, an expected output will be a harmonized strategy framework to monitoring fishing activities around moored FAD.
Long-Term Expectations
The successful formation and functioning of an Ad hoc working group on the sustainable FAD fishing is expected to provide additional data that is vital to the responsible management of the large pelagic resources at the national and subregional levels. It is also expected that the outputs derived from the proposed FAD working group will, in time, be complementary to the objectives of the ongoing TCP/RLA/0070. Finally it is expected that the cooperation spawned by the working group will promote responsible fisheries as mandated in the Article 8.11 (Fishing Operations: Artificial reefs and fish aggregating devices) of Code of Conduct for responsible Fisheries. The countries of the sub-region will benefit from the synergy of outputs of the working group and the TCP by having reliable information to make management decisions relative to large pelagic species, and being positioned to discharge their international obligations.
References Cited:
FAO. 1997. Fisheries Circular No.920. Review of the State of world Fishery Resources: Marine. FAO, Rome. ICCAT. 1985. BasicText: International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, Madrid, Spain, 99p.
Mahon. 1996.Fisheries and research for Tunas and tuna-like Species in the Western Central Atlantic: FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No.257: 62p.
United Nations. 1983. The Law of the Sea. United Convention on the Law of the Sea. United Nations, New York.
