Charting a Course Towards Sustainable and Resilient Prosperity in Fisheries and Aquaculture

BELMOPAN, Belize - Hurricane Beryl, which broke the record as the earliest major hurricane on record to form in the Atlantic in July, woke the region up to a stark reality: In the current environment created by accelerated climate change, strong hurricanes can rapidly form very early in the season, displacing entire communities and devastating the livelihoods of thousands in the blink of a hurricane’s eye.

Beryl struck the Caribbean islands of Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia, and  Trinidad and Tobago, over a span of a few days at the start of July, and the fisheries and aquaculture sector was not spared from its furious winds, torrential rains, and erratic storm surges.

This catastrophe unfolded about a month after people from across the world converged on the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda for the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), under the theme: Charting the Course Toward Resilient Prosperity.

On the sidelines of this event, the Belize-based Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) convened two seminars on key topics which are most relevant to the present realities confronting the fisheries and aquaculture sector, looking holistically on how we can chart a progressive way forward for the sector and our countries. This dialogue is even more relevant today.

The seminars were convened by the CRFM Secretariat and co-hosted by the CRFM and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, with support from the CARICOM Secretariat, the National Fisheries Authority of Jamaica, and Green Initiative.

They discussed Revitalizing SIDS Economies& Food and Nutrition Security through the Sustainable use of our Living Marine Resources and Accelerating the Decarbonization of Fisheries in the Caribbean- from science-based targets to climate mitigation finance.

St. Kitts-Nevis Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister, Samal Duggins, said that “the development of our mariculture industry offers a viable solution to improve the sustainability of our fisheries.

“By cultivating marine organisms in their natural habitats, we can boost local fish production, reduce import dependence, and provide fresh, nutritious seafood, as well as sustainable livelihoods for our coastal communities.”

CRFM executive director, Milton Haughton, said “there is no reason why we cannot be self-sufficient in seafood (and fish) production through aquaculture and through utilizing and diversifying our marine fisheries”.

In addressing the second session on climate change, Haughton said that with the increased frequency of storms and hurricanes, the Caribbean needs to build the sector’s resilience by investing in the restoration of protective marine habitats such as mangroves and coral reefs, enhancing fisheries management and biodiversity conservation.

He noted several key initiatives being implemented by the CRFM with support from donors and partners, to strengthen resilience. These include carbon footprint assessments for the sector.

“We must play our part in contributing towards the decarbonization of fisheries and aquaculture in our region and moving from science-based targets to climate mitigation action,”  Duggins said, highlighting the critical need for financing, to empower the sector with the resources needed to retool itself and to implement the critical mitigation and adaptation measures needed in this post-COVID era.

Access to funds, whether grants or soft loans, can enable fishers to upgrade their equipment, adopt sustainable practices, and increase their productivity, Duggins said, pointing to some ‘low-hanging fruit,’ such as the adoption of cleaner burning engines and increasing reliance on renewable energy options, such as geothermal and solar power.

Head of Climate and Nature Policy, Green Initiative, Frédéric Perron-Welch,agreed on the need to transition to clean energy solutions, using more efficient engines and renewable energy.

In his presentation on the carbon footprint assessment of National Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited in Belize, which was commissioned by the CRFM, he focused on the lobster value chain and found that the greenhouse gas (GHG) indicator for carbon dioxide emissions was relatively low.

However, transportation and energy were the main areas of concern where he said interventions could be made to further reduce  greenhouse gas emissions.

“Financing sustainable fisheries management, upgrading infrastructure to withstand climate impacts and deploying advanced innovative technologies, including renewable energy and risk-informed early warning systems are now urgent priorities,” said Cristelle Pratt, Assistant Secretary-General, Environment & Climate Action, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

“The conundrum we find ourselves in, is that if SIDS have to foot much of the bill to adapt to and mitigate against climate change, they worsen the ocean of debt they are wallowing in now, and which may, in fact, sink SIDS before rising sea levels—another problem they did not cause,” she said  in her presentation on climate change.

She expressed concern that financing is inadequate and not easy for SIDS, particularly those in the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific regions, to access. The OACPS has estimated that SIDS require USD 28.7 billion annually (until 2030) to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to fight climate change.

However, she noted that the NDCs provide an opportunity to secure the  requisite resources to build resilient societies and economies. Pratt said that the 79 ACP States, 39 of which are SIDS, have stewardship over 30% of the world’s oceans.

She said the landscape of financing options covers national public finance, blue bonds, grants, and funds from multilateral development banks. She also pointed to support mechanisms such as the World Bank’s ProBlue  and EU Blue Sustainable Ocean Strategy and Blue-Action initiative.

The head, special projects at the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), Keith E. Nichols, said that every risk presents an opportunity. As for the risks associated with climate change, Caribbean countries can use the NDC Partnership  as a key opportunity to secure the resources needed to build resilient societies and communities.

Nichols said that achieving science-based targets means that we have to do what we can, adding that the transition is for our economic benefit.

The partners agreed that genuine and inclusive engagement of stakeholders—especially including the marginalized—underpins the success of future efforts to unite in addressing climate change.

“The fisheries sector maintains food security even after hurricanes or other adverse weather disasters,” said Ambassador Daven Joseph, from the Office of the Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda, emphasising  the need for development finance to mitigate the effects of climate change and risk insurance for fishers.

Ambassador Joseph asserted that the time has come to look at climate resilience financing through property rights innovative schemes, adding that those now taking over the coastal zone and resources should compensate those who they are replacing and who have been relying on these resources for their livelihoods.

Resource Economist and Team Leader Fisheries at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dr. Salome Taufa, observed that limited capacity to sustainably develop the sector, as well as challenges related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and overexploitation, are common issues confronting SIDS.

She shared two important initiatives used by the Pacific region: (i) the Hubs and Spokes Project to upscale the sector by using resource-rich, lesser developed locations as suppliers, and more developed locations as hubs for production, trade, and export; and (ii) the establishment of a regional fisheries development fund, which could help to defray the revenue losses expected to occur due to adverse climate change impacts.

She also spoke of the need to change mindsets to expand economic opportunities and improve wealth distribution, and the need to strike a balance between development and  environmental protection.

Chief executive officer at the National Fisheries Authority in Jamaica, Dr. Gavin Bellamy, said how fisheries authorities in the region can address food and nutrition security is with a holistic approach in looking at all facets of the industry from both regulations, and laws and compliance, as well as research and development, to support fishers and to help develop the industry in a sustainable manner.

Senior project officer, Sustainable Development at the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat,

Kareem Sabir, noted the efforts being made under CARICOM’s Vision 25 by 2025 initiative -aimed at reducing the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, including imports of fish and other marine products.

He spoke of the plans to develop a CARICOM policy document on ocean management. Additionally, he pointed to the need for a common framework for understanding what is in our oceans, as well as to understand the associated uses and conflicts in a meaningful way, to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

“The issue of property rights for fishers is something that must come back to the table and be given serious consideration by governments, because that is the only way you can have sustainable livelihoods and proper planning and development in the industry,” Ambassador Joseph reiterated.

Jamaican fisheries expert, G. Andre Kong, who previously headed Jamaica’s Fisheries Division, now the National Fisheries Authority, said that property rights can be ascribed to users of aquatic resources. He agreed that the right of tenure and right of access to resources are key to ensuring sustainable development of the sector.

Haughton highlighted the need to pursue actions aimed at spreading the risks associated with disasters and climate change, with a focus on livelihood diversification, risk insurance, planning and preparedness, and the empowerment of local communities to enhance resilience.

He underscored the importance of ensuring that each local community has the resources, knowledge and systems required to harden coastal infrastructure, as well as to establish safe areas of refuge during the passage of severe weather systems.

Apart from retooling the sector and enabling fishers to transition to more climate-smart and resilient fishing vessels and gear technology, including underwater fish aggregating devices (or FADs), the Fisheries and Aquaculture sector needs better infrastructure, including safer harbors, jetties, piers, and other infrastructure, a need that must be borne in mind as the Caribbean jurisdictions affected by Hurricane Beryl rebuild their affected sectors and communities in the months and years ahead.