Social protection schemes in the Eastern Caribbean’s small-scale fisheries can be enhanced. 

Spanning around three million sq km, the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) is a complex mosaic of maritime jurisdictions. It surrounds nearly 30 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with diverse ecological, socio-economic, cultural and geo-political characteristics. Providing a single perspective on social protection in CLME small-scale fisheries (SSF) is, hence, virtually impossible. In this article we focus on SSF social protection in the more homogenous Eastern Caribbean sub-region.

All fisheries in these islands are small-scale with relatively short value chains, primarily domestic labour forces, and local consumption. The landings are a mixture of coastal (for example, jacks), oceanic (tunas), demersal (conch) and pelagic (dolphinfish) species harvested by motorized vessels under 12 metres using several types of fishing gear. Many nearshore coral reefs are degraded and/or over-exploited, but there are healthier and more productive ecosystems offshore with the potential for moderate expansion of commercial fishing (with the aid of fish aggregating devices).