The overall objective of this 10-year Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan is to guide the implementation of a set of identified management measures that can be applied at the regional or sub-regional level for the sustainability of queen conch populations and for the maintenance of a healthy fishery and livelihood of the people involved in the fishery. The ecosystem approach forms the basis of this Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan, enhanci ng partnerships and collaboration throughout the Wider Caribbean region to improve the long-term governance of queen conch fisheries across the Caribbean. The Regional Queen Conch Fishery Management and Conservation Plan was formulated with the following specific objectives: 1. To improve the collection and integration of scientific data needed to determine the overall queen conch population status as the basis for the application of ecosystem-based management. 2. To harmonize measures aimed a t increasing the stability of the queen conch population and to implement best-management practices for a sustainable fishery. 3. To increase coordination and collaboration toward achieving better education and outreach, monitoring and research, co-management and strengthening, optimizing and harmonizing regional governance arrangements. 4. To adopt regional management measures, which incorporate the precautionary approach

The sixth meeting of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) Working Group on Queen conch was held in a hybrid format. The meeting was hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 16 March 2023, but most attendees participated in the meeting remotely. The following members and regional partner organizations participated: Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, United States of America, Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), Centre for the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife for the Wider Caribbean Region (CAR SPAW/SPAW RAC-Guadeloupe), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC), Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), the Regional Committee of Marine Fisheries and Marine Aquaculture of Guadeloupe (CRPMEM for its acronym in French) the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Belize). Discussions focused on monitoring the implementation of the Regional Queen conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan, various Queen conch recommendations and resolutions along with recommendations adopted at the 18th meeting of the Commission in 2022. Participants reviewed the CITES CoP19 decisions and recommendations and discussed the progress of activities as called for in the Work Plan for 2022–2024.

The twelfth session of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) was held virtually from 19 to 20 June 2023. The SAG considered the outcomes of the work carried out by various joint working groups between 2022 and 2023 and their recommendations to the 19th Session of WECAFC . A revised version of the Caribbean Regional anchored aFAD Management plan and a revised version of the Guide for improved monitoring of anchored aFAD catches and improved assessment of anchored aFADs impact on stocks first reviewed at the eleventh session of SAG were tabled.

The Fourth meeting of the CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM/CITES Working Group on Queen Conch was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 16 to 17 December 2019. Discussions focused on strengthening national, regional and international efforts and uplifting responsibilities and commitments for the management and conservation and trade in queen conch and related or interacting species or fisheries in the Western Central Atlantic. Participants also considered how to strengthen the livelihoods of the people depending on these resources by following the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and in accordance with management goals agreed in the Regional Queen Conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan, which remains a matter of priority. La cuarta reunión del Grupo de trabajo conjunto CFMC/OSPESCA/COPACO/CRFM/CITES sobre el caracol rosado se celebró en San Juan, Puerto Rico, del 16 al 17 de diciembre de 2019. Las discusiones se centraron en el fortalecimiento de los esfuerzos nacionales, regionales e internacionales y la ampliación de las responsabilidades y compromisos para la ordenación, conservación y comercio del caracol rosado y las especies -o pesquerías- relacionadas -o con las que interactúa- en el Atlántico centro-occidental. Los participantes también estudiaron cómo fortalecer los medios de vida de quienes dependen de esos recursos, en consonancia con el Código de Conducta para la Pesca Responsable y los objetivos de ordenación acordados en el Plan regional para la ordenación y conservación del caracol rosado, que continúa siendo una cuestión prioritaria.

The fifth meeting of the CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM/CITES Working Group on Queen Conch (QCWG) was held in a hybrid format. The meeting was hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 13 to 14 December 2021, but most attendees participated in the meeting remotely. The following members and regional partner organizations participated: Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, European Union, France (on behalf of Guadeloupe and Martinique), Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the United States of America, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC), the Organization for the Fishing and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA). The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), the Regional Committee of Marine Fisheries and Marine Aquaculture of Guadeloupe, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Belize). Experts were also in attendance from the Scientific, Statistical and Technical Advisory Group of the Queen Conch Working Group (QCWG/SSTAG). Discussions focused on the progress made towards implementation of the Regional Queen Conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan and recommendations adopted at the 17th meeting of the Commission in 2019. Participants learned about collaborative work on Queen conch, especially at the regional level, and an overview of the intersessional activities undertaken.

This review was developed as a project in response to the needs of the Intersessional Working Group of WECAFC in its task of identifying key options and priorities. The review describes a group of selected species that are considered to be important to Member States of the WECAFC. It classifies them into transboundary and straddling/highly migratory stocks and their fisheries and provides information on the state of exploitation of the selected species. The review also considers the ecological connectivity between the high seas and the EEZs of coastal nations. Lastly, it highlights issues that need to be addressed to generate a sound scientific knowledge base in support of the strategic reorientation of the Commission.

This workshop reviewed available information on national, institutional and personal experiences in relation to this issue. Relevant ecological considerations were reviewed and suggestions as how to consider these issues in terms of International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas were discussed and documented.--Publisher's description

In recent years, an increasing number of commercially exploited and managed aquatic species, including sharks and rays, have been listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The listing of some species in CITES Appendix II has necessitated attention from the fisheries sector of States on how listing would impact on the management of the relevant fisheries. This sourcebook and the research process involved in its development highlighted the opportunity to implement CITES through national fisheries legal frameworks. Indeed, in certain cases, doing so can prove to be vital in giving practical effect to CITES while simultaneously enhancing fisheries management regimes and ensuring that all activities along the fisheries value chain, especially the international trade in CITES-listed aquatic species, are legal, traceable and sustainable. The study recognizes that communities operating within the CITES regime and in the fisheries sectors have their own particular areas of work. However, they should cooperate and coordinate their work where they share the common high-level objectives of ensuring responsible, legal and sustainable utilization of resources, including species, biodiversity and ecosystems, and implementing the relevant Sustainable Development Goals. This sourcebook was first published in 2020, designated as a "super year" for nature and biodiversity. The second edition of this sourcebook was developed to take into account and reflect the outcomes of the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, in 2022. The sourcebook is a timely and useful contribution to fisheries management as it seeks to provide support in: (i) raising awareness of CITES; (ii) enhancing comprehension of the CITES regime and its relationship with the fisheries sector; and (iii) where a deliberate decision is made by a country to implement CITES through its national fisheries legal frameworks, providing guidance on what to do and how to do it.

SUSTAINABLE FISHERY SYSTEMS An up-to-date and interdisciplinary guide to sustainable fisheries Fisheries, whether small-scale or large-scale, are filled with complexity and uncertainty. Making the right decisions to successfully manage fisheries for sustainability and resilience requires a systems approach — including both natural and human elements, and their many interactions. To understand fisheries, and how they change over time, a diverse range of fishery knowledge must be brought together. Sustainable Fishery Systems, 2nd edition meets these needs. The new edition provides essential information that can be readily applied within government, community, industrial, academic and research settings. Sustainable Fishery Systems, 2nd edition retains the first edition’s emphasis on themes such as sustainability, resilience, uncertainty, complexity, and conflict, and expands its treatment of topics that have, since the first edition’s publication, become crucial to consider in the field of fisheries. As a result, readers will find: Updated and expanded coverage of topics including coastal conservation, ecosystem-based management, co-management, community-based management, and more New chapters covering connections between fisheries and marine protected areas, biodiversity conservation, climate and fisheries, and multi-sectoral management A more detailed introduction to the “systems” perspective of fisheries, reflecting the substantial growth in that subject’s importance, and covering in detail the natural, human and governance aspects of fisheries. Sustainable Fishery Systems, 2nd edition is an indispensable interdisciplinary resource for educators, researchers, government agencies, and fisheries managers.