N. Priority listing of problems by country for the region and proposed actions to combat these problems

Issue	Antigua and Barbuda	Bahamas	Barbados	Belize	Cuba	Dominican Republic	Grenada	Haiti	Jamaica	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Lucia	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Suriname	Trinidad and Tobago	Average	Rank
Fishing unauthorized species/undersized species	10	2	11	1	3	3	5	1	8	2	2	3	2	10	4.5	1
Inadequate MCS	2	3	3	2	12	1	1	10	10	5	3	2	7	3	4.6	2
Encroachment by foreign fishing vessels	1	1	5	3	14	9	2	9	1	8	1	1	12	2	4.9	3
Unauthorized fishing in closed areas/seasons	11	8	2	4	5	2	3	5	5	9	5	5	9	9	5.9	4
Use of prohibited gears and fishing methods	13	7	9	7	1	6	11	6	6	1	8	4	10	6	6.8	5
Inadequate legislation for IUU fishing/MCS	3	6	8	13	11	5	6	11	3	6	13	8	11	1	7.5	6
Unreporting/misreporting of catches	6	12	1	11	13	4	12	4	7	3	7	11	4	12	7.6	7
Lack of coordination/communications between agencies in national administrations	5	4	4	12	10	8	7	14	9	4	10	10	8	4	7.8	8
Use of unauthorized gears	8	11	10	8	4	7	10	7	12	10	4	7	5	7	7.9	9
Fishing by unregistered/unlicensed vessels	4	10	14	9	2	12	4	3	4	7	12	14	3	14	8.0	10
Lack of subregional cooperation on IUU fishing issues	7	5	6	6	8	11	9	13	11	12	6	9	6	5	8.1	11
Unauthorized fishing in management zones	12	9	12	5	7	10	13	8	13	n/a	9	6	1	8	8.7	12
Fishing endangered species	14	14	7	10	6	13	8	2	2	n/a	11	12	14	11	9.5	13
Use of unseaworthy vessels	9	13	13	14	9	14	14	12	14	11	14	13	13	13	12.6	14

ISSUE	ACTION
Fishing unauthorized species/undersized species	To review fishing gear used and facilitate the availability of alternative gear for fishers To strengthen enforcement To harmonize regulations among countries for common species To harmonize legislation in countries for gear To harmonize MCS among countries as appropriate To promote public awareness about the effects of harvesting unauthorized/undersized species
Inadequate MCS	To lobby for more resources for MCS To promote greater planning and cooperation among national agencies involved with MCS To involve fishers in enforcement activities To review and update legislation as appropriate To promote MCS training To encourage co-management of fisheries
Encroachment by foreign fishing vessels	To increase MCS To increase fines and penalties To encourage delimitation To promote cooperation with neighbouring States including bilateral or multilateral fishing agreements To prepare NPOAs-IUU To enhance the availability of equipment and training for MCS
Unauthorized fishing in closed areas/seasons	To increase fines/penalties for unauthorized fishing To encourage public education and awareness about the impacts of unauthorized fishing To increase random patrols and surveillance To promote fisheries co-management To institute market controls and checks on fish being offered for sale
Use of prohibited gears and fishing methods	To engage in consultations with fishers To initiate awareness raising campaigns To increase MCS To encourage collaboration with customs concerning the import of prohibited fishing gear To enforce the use of selective gear To promote training for fishers concerning gears and fishing methods To encourage the availability of alternative legal fishing gear To initiate port inspection To ban the importation of illegal fishing gear To declare protected areas To provide compensation/replacement of prohibited gear
Inadequate legislation for IUU fishing/MCS	To review policy on IUU fishing/MCS as required To review fisheries legislation and draft new legislation if necessary
Unreporting/misreporting of catches	To implement reporting guidelines for catches To improve data collection systems To educate fishers about the importance of accurate data and reporting To tighten conditions of licensing To issue record keeping books/log books to fishers
Lack of coordination/communications between agencies in national administrations	To establish a mechanism for periodic consultation and coordination between agencies To develop and implement MOUs/agreements among and/or between agencies To share resources among agencies/administrations
Use of unauthorized gears	To improve enforcement To strengthen legislation To initiate education programmes for fishers about the use of unauthorized gear To increase fines and penalties To destroy prohibited/unauthorized gears when seized To implement restrictions on the importation of unauthorized gear To initiate incentives programmes to encourage the use of authorized gear
Fishing by unregistered/unlicensed vessels	To increase enforcement To institutionalise procedures to promote compliance by fishers To provide education for fishers To establish registration systems for vessels where such systems do not exist To improve enforcement and coordination by all relevant national agencies To improve data systems for vessels registration and licensing procedures
Lack of subregional cooperation on IUU fishing issues	To use existing subregional, regional and international organizations to promote cooperation To encourage marine boundary delimitation To facilitate networking among MCS agencies
Unauthorized fishing in management zones	To promote public education and awareness about the detrimental effects of unauthorized fishing To promote MCS including VMS To encourage fisheries co-management
Fishing endangered species	To increase penalties for harvesting such species To create public awareness about endangered species To strengthen MCS To encourage the implementation, regionally and internationally, market controls and documentation schemes for such species
Use of unseaworthy vessels	To establish standards for construction of vessels and their maintenance To improve licensing and registration systems To initiate mandatory vessel inspections schemes To educate fishers about the importance of seaworthy craft