Dear Subscribers,

Some of the top fisheries scientists from the Caribbean region gathered to advice the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC). They came together on the occasion of the Seventh session of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of WECAFC, which was held in Panama City on 7-8 November.
The scientists reviewed the status of the main commercially targeted fish stocks in the region and provided scientific advice to WECAFC and its Working Groups.

They gave specific attention to the review of a range of draft recommendations and resolutions that have been prepared by working groups of WECAFC and partner agencies. Recommendations that were reviewed focused on Queen Conch, Caribbean spiny lobster, flying fish and shrimp and groundfish fisheries, as well as deep sea fisheries in the high seas. Resolutions reviewed related to the use of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as tool for fisheries management in the Caribbean and on seacucumber fisheries management and aquaculture.

The review and endorsement by the SAG presents a scientific clearance to forward these recommendations and resolutions to the 16th session of WECAFC, scheduled to be held in Guadeloupe in June 2016, for region-wide approval and implementation by the 34 member states of WECAFC.

The SAG was updated on the progress made with resources and fisheries inventories under the WECAFC-FIRMS partnership. The Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) includes status reports on 600 stocks and 200 fisheries that are made available through:
http://firms.fao.org/firms/en.

The SAG also reviewed the Terms of References of the 10 joint working groups and advised on inclusion of emerging issues and priorities in their work plans for the coming years. The SAG meeting benefited from the participation of key partner agencies, such as CRFM, OSPESCA, CLME+ project, CFMC, CNFO, IFREMER, NOAA and UWI.

The report with the outcomes of the seventh SAG session will be published by FAO in February 2016 in the 3 languages of the Commission.


WECAFC Secretariat
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Subregional Office for the Caribbean (FAO-SLC)
2nd floor , United Nations House, Marine Gardens, Hastings
Christ Church, BB 11000, Barbados
Tel (Office) :1(246) 426-7110/11; Ext. 249
Fax               :1(246) 427-6075
E-mail          :[log in to unmask]
Website      :http://www.fao.org/fishery/rfb/wecafc/en




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