This document provides a summary of the presentations, discussions, conclusions and recommendations of the Work Planning Workshop on Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean Trawl Fisheries (REBYC-II LAC) held in Bridgetown, Barbados on 9-12 September 2015. The main objectives of the Work Planning workshop of the Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean Trawl Fisheries (REBYC-II LAC) project (http://www.fao.org/in-action/rebyc-2/en/) were to (i) revise and specify the 2015-2016 national and regional workplans; (ii) review and agree on the financial, administrative, and managerial aspects of the project and (iii) define the next steps in the activities. Achievements of the workshop included: (i) the review and establishment of the administrative and management arrangements of the project; (ii) the review and adjustments to country workplans and budgets for 2015-2016, including formalization of national activities; and (iii) agreement on the next steps for project implementation.

The project “Sustainable management of bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean trawl fisheries” was financed by GEF, implemented and executed by FAO. With an overall evaluation rating of Highly Satisfactory, the assessment has identified notable results in strengthening regional collaboration, improving legal frameworks and co-management mechanisms; successful trials of bycatch reduction devices; and building capacity, including of women. The global environment objective (GEO) and the project development objective (PDO) were partially achieved, reflecting the over-ambitiousness of the design. However, the enabling environment created, and the transformational results will contribute towards achievement of these objectives in the long-term. Strategic partnerships and the high level of stakeholder engagement including the private sector contributed to successful delivery. Recommendations include actions to be taken by the project partners and stakeholders to build on the project results to achieve sustainable, long-term impact; thematic areas for follow-up projects; more realistic project objectives and improvement in institutional arrangements and administrative procedures for future projects; sustaining partnerships; enhancing livelihoods and empowerment of women fish workers; and better communication and knowledge management.

The Sustainable Ocean Initiative Capacity-Building Workshop for the Wider Caribbean and Central America on Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in the Marine Fishery Sector was co-organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The workshop was held online on 20–21 April and 27–28 April 2022. It sought to establish a way forward to identify fisheries-related OECMs in the Caribbean and provide technical input to prepare and test FAO’s practical guidance for identifying, evaluating, and reporting OECMs in marine fisheries. The main points covered during the expert meeting related to introducing participants to the OECM concept; providing an overview of the regional initiatives for biodiversity conservation, and exploring the current and potential place of fisheries management and OECMs in these regional initiatives; providing participants with an overview of the criteria and subcriteria for OECM identification; and providing participants with an overview of the OECM reporting process and the potential capacity-building needs to identify, evaluate and report OECMs in the Wider Caribbean Region. During the expert meeting, participants conducted practical exercises by applying the OECM criteria to eight real-life case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States of America. Participants also discussed the role of OECMs in recognizing conservation efforts; the need to recognize fishers’ local culture in the OECM process; the incentives provided by OECM recognition; OECM identification and evaluation; and the use of international guidance to support the identification and evaluation of OECMs.

The fourth meeting of the Regional Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, was held virtually from 8 to 9 September 2020. The Regional Working Group on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (RWG-IUU) Fishing is a joint working group of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), and Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Central America (OSPESCA). At the meeting, the attendants provided updates on the implementation of the RWG-IUU work plan for 2019–2020 and their efforts in implementing the relevant recommendations that were endorsed at the 17th Session of WECAFC in July 2019. Participants were also informed of the developments at the global and regional levels in the implementation of the Port States Measures Agreement (PSMA) and complementing instruments. La cuarta reunión (virtual) del Grupo de trabajo regional sobre la pesca ilegal, no declarada y no reglamentada (pesca INDNR), tuvo lugar del 8 al 9 de septiembre de 2020. El Grupo de trabajo regional sobre la pesca ilegal, no declarada y no reglamentada (GTR-INDNR) es un grupo conjunto de la Comisión de Pesca para el Atlántico Centro-Occidental (COPACO), el Mecanismo Regional de Pesca del Caribe (CRFM) y la Organización del Sector Pesquero y Acuícola del Istmo Centroamericano (OSPESCA). En la reunión, los asistentes proporcionaron información actualizada sobre la aplicación del plan de trabajo del GTR-INDNR para 2019-2020 y sus esfuerzos en implementar las recomendaciones pertinentes que fueron aprobadas en la decimoséptima sesión de la COPACO en julio de 2019.

One of the most contentious issues in management of marine fisheries is the use of mobile bottom contacting gears, mainly trawls and dredges. There are growing concerns about the overall ecosystem impacts of bottom trawling. Some countries have banned bottom trawling and some major retailers refuse to stock fish caught using bottom trawl gears. However, such decisions are not always based on the best available scientific advice. The initiative “Finding common ground on the scientific knowledge regarding trawling best practices (TBP)” is an international collaboration of leaders in the scientific community to understand how trawling and other forms of towed bottom-contacting gears interact with seabed habitats and their biota. An analysis of the datasets to which the project has had access has revealed an underrepresentation of fisheries from tropical regions. Bottom trawl fishery is important in the region because it provides food and livelihoods for a large number of people. The TBP project in collaboration with FAO held an expert workshop in 2014 in Bangkok (Thailand) covering South and Southeast Asia and another workshop in 2016 in Cartagena (Colombia) covering the Latin American region. It was considered important to address the data gap and to engage stakeholders in Africa to raise awareness about potential best practices for trawling. Therefore, the TBP project, in collaboration with FAO, conducted a workshop on use of best available science in developing and promoting best practices for trawl fishing operations in Africa in March 2017 in Marrakech, Morocco. Key research institutions, universities, organizations and independent experts involved in data collection and research on assessment and/or management of ecosystem impacts of bottom trawling in Africa were invited to attend the workshop. The workshop first summarized the progress made in the five phases of the project and then (i) identified availability of data on spatial distribution of trawling activities, source of data as well as gaps in knowledge in the African region; (ii) evaluated availability and applicability of data on habitat, bycatch and ecosystem impacts of bottom trawling in the region; (iii) began to assemble data on trawling intensity in representative ecosystems; and (iv) developed an arrangement for expertise and data sharing, and for continuing to collaborate to develop best practices for trawling to enhance sustainability of marine ecosystem that contribute to food security and livelihoods in Africa.

This workshop was the second of a series of regional workshops on fisheries tenure and user rights. It aimed to discover regional nuances and specificities of the Latin America and Caribbean area to develop how-to guidance on appropriate tenure systems and rights-based approaches for fisheries. Representatives from both government and non-government sectors attended this workshop. Participants at the workshop presented fisheries tenure and user rights of 11 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Grenada, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. Participants discussed in plenary three topics: 1) Recognition and allocation of tenure rights and responsibilities; 2) Transfers and other changes to tenure rights; and 3) Administration of tenure. Participants made recommendations for future work, including (1) increasing efforts on securing small-scale fishers rights; and (2) finding solutions on how different sectors can coexist. To do so, participants requested more information and guidance on tenure and user rights in fisheries along with on-the-ground support.