The Ministerial Council

1. Each Member of the Mechanism shall nominate a Minister of Fisheries to represent it on the Ministerial Council and such representative shall have one vote.

2. The Ministerial Council shall meet in regular session once a year and in such special sessions as may be necessary to perform its functions.

3. The Ministerial Council shall determine the policy of the Mechanism. In particular, the Ministerial Council shall:

(a) promote the efficient management, conservation and development of shared, straddling and highly migratory marine and other aquatic resources of the Caribbean Region through attainment of competence over the resources and through co-operation with competent organisations as the case may be;

(b) develop and maintain relations with national, sub-regional and regional institutions and bodies and international institutions and organisations the work of which have an impact on the fisheries within the Region;

(c) promote and facilitate human resource training and development in the fisheries sub-sector at the professional, technical and vocational levels in Member States;

(d) promote and support programmes designed to establish, facilitate and strengthen fisheries research, including the acquisition and sharing of relevant data in Member States;

(e) promote and encourage technical co-operation in the fisheries sub-sector, including technology transfer, information exchange and networking among States of the Caribbean Region and beyond;

(f) encourage co-operation among the Member States in order to avoid disputes or to resolve them in a peaceful manner;

(g) support efforts aimed at ensuring safe, healthy and fair working and living conditions for fishers and fish workers;

(h) consider the annual reports and make decisions in response to recommendations and requests from the Forum;

(i) approve the Budget, Annual Audited Accounts and Procurement Procedures of the Mechanism and Strategic Plan and Work Programme of the Technical Unit;

(j) appoint the Director and Deputy Director of the Technical Unit;

(k) receive and consider policy proposals from the Forum;

(l) approve co-operative arrangements proposed by the Forum;

(m) approve recommendations for States or Territories to be admitted as Associate Members;

(n) approve recommendations for groups, institutions and bodies whose work contribute to the work of the Mechanism to be admitted to the Forum, as Observers;

(o) review the work of the Technical Unit;

(p) submit annual reports to the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR).

4. Subject to the provisions of this Article and Article 18, the Ministerial Council shall determine its own rules of procedure.

The Mechanism is composed of:

(a) The Ministerial Council;

(b) The Caribbean Fisheries Forum (supported by The Executive Committee); and

(c) The Secretariat (Technical Unit)