
For Immediate Release
Grenadian fisherfolk renew commitment to organise at the national level
Port of Spain. July 14, 2016
- “Fisherfolk must organise so that they can be represented”. This was the key message from the Co-ordinator of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO), Mitchell Lay, at the recently
concluded National Fisherfolk Workshop in Grenada.
The workshop was attended by fishers from five fisherfolk organisations in Grenada, Petite Martinique and Carriacou, along with representatives from the Fisheries Division, Ministry of Economic Development, Trade Planning and Co-operatives
and The Nature Conservancy.
During the workshop, fishers shared their experiences in influencing fisheries and related policies and
identified policy opportunities at the regional and international levels which could be used to address some of their priority issues, such as the high cost of fishing operations and inadequate market intelligence. Participants also discussed relevant
policy and legal instruments which impact fisheries management in Grenada, and identified options to engage in the fisheries management process.
Fishers were cognizant of the fact that their ability to influence policy at the national level was limited by the absence of an active national fisherfolk organisation in Grenada. One of the key outcomes of the workshop
was the action taken to re-energize and re-constitute the Interim Committee to form the National Fisherfolk Organisation, with the next steps for the Committee being the development of a work plan and identification of funding sources to support its work.

Participants review key policy and capacity issues identified at the last National Fisherfolk Workshop which was held in May 2014.
In addition, participants
examined the issue of by-catch from fishing gear used by small-scale fishers and the likely impacts on the fisheries ecosystem in Grenada.
The workshop, which was convened at the Gouyave Fishing Complex, from July 4-5, 2016, was organised and facilitated as a collaborative effort involving the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), under the Strengthening
Caribbean Fisherfolk to Participate in Governance project, and the CNFO, under the
Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network project.
The European Union funded Strengthening Caribbean Fisherfolk to Participate in Governance project is targeting fisherfolk organisations in the countries of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada,
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos. The project is aimed at improving the contribution of the small-scale fisheries sector to food security
in these countries through building the capacity of regional and national fisherfolk organisation networks to participate in fisheries governance and management.
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety funded
Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network (ECMMAN) project is aimed at improving the management capacity within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for existing marine managed areas (MMAs) and supporting the establishment of new
MMAs. The beneficiary OECS countries are St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. The ECMMAN project is being implemented by The Nature Conservancy.
END
About CANARI: The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute is a regional, technical, non-profit organisation which has been working in the islands of the Caribbean for more than 20 years. Our mission is to promote
equitable participation and effective collaboration in managing natural resources critical to development. Our programmes focus on research, sharing and dissemination of lessons learned, capacity building and fostering regional partnerships.
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For further information: Please see
http://www.canari.org/strengthening-caribbean-fisherfolk-to-participate-in-governance/ or contact Terrence Phillips at CANARI at
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Submitted on July 14, 2016
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