Workshop for local fishers aims to promote long-term sustainable development

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (June 06, 2013) – Co-management of Fisheries was the topic of a three-day training workshop for local fishers which was held at the Red Cross Building on Chapel Street, from June 4 through 6, 2013, with the title “Strengthening Fisherfolk Organisation in St. Kitts and Nevis.” 
 
 
The National Training Workshop on Fisheries Co-management was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Cooperatives and the Nevis Island Administration’s Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, Fisheries and Cooperatives.
 
 
The FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department aims to promote long-term sustainable development and the utilisation of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture and to contribute to food security.
 
 
Raymon Van Anrooy, Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer of the FAO, who gave an overview of the workshop at the opening ceremony on June 4, said it is part of a series of training activities which is being carried out with the support of the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP). The series started last month in St. Kitts and will continue over the next five months.
 
 
“The department has three main pillars of work which are directed first towards the promotion of the responsible fisheries sector management at global and national levels with the priority given to implementation of the code of conduct for responsible fisheries, the FAO compliance agreements, and the united Nations convention of the law of the sea…and various other international plans of action for instance on illegal fishing, on sharks and dealing with fishing-freeze capacities; secondly, increasing the contribution of responsible fisheries aquaculture toward world food supplies and food security and;  thirdly, the global monitoring and strategic analysis of fisheries and priority here is given to gathering fisheries data, the development of databases, and the analysis of information and the dissemination of that information,” Van Anrooy said.
 
 
According to the Fisheries and Aquaculture Officer, the data would be used to inform the decisions of policy makers and stakeholders, in terms of fisheries management.
 
 
Van Anrooy who was also of one the workshop facilitators, said Co-Management has shown to be successful in many countries worldwide but in fact it has only recently taken off or been introduced here in the Caribbean region.
 
“With this workshop, we intend to increase awareness of fisheries Co-Management approaches and prepare recommendations for follow-up activities here in St. Kitts and Nevis, together with fisheries authorities and the FAO project and maybe follow-up projects,” he said.
 
 
The other workshop facilitators were Susana Siar, FAO Fishery Industry Officer; Mark Willams, Director of the Department of Marine Sources, St. Kitts; and Althea Arthurton, Director of Fisheries, Nevis.
 

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