Anguilla 
Antigua and Barbuda 
Grenada 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Belize 
Dominica 
Guyana 
Haiti 
Jamaica 
Montserrat 
St. Kitts and Nevis 
St. Lucia 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
Suriname 
Trinidad and Tobago 
Turks and Caicos 
What is the Right Balance Between International Management and the Involvement of Fishing Communities in the Management of Caribbean Spiny Lobster Fisheries?
Lester Gittens, PhD
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Department of Marine Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs,
Government of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas
ABSTRACT
The Caribbean spiny lobster has an extensive occurrence as it is found in numerous territories from Bermuda to the northern edge of South America. Fisheries based on this species are of equally widespread importance to the Caribbean region. Similarly, the threats to sustainable fishing are just as borderless. Such transboundary threats, the likes of which impact many species, include climate change, illegal fishing, limited management resources and paucity of statistical data. The often-global scale of such challenges necessitate international coordination and cooperation. Indeed this need has manifested itself through various binding and non-binding international agreements seeking to address an array of issues. However, amid the clear need for international management efforts, it should neither be forgotten nor disregarded that direct resource users, in individual communities, must have a say in the management of fisheries resources they depend on. This view is consistent with sustainable development goals. But how is the need for international management, sometimes involving people far removed from the day-to-day needs of communities in distant countries, balanced against the obligation to include communities in management processes? These contrasting ideals are not easy to achieve and can be compounded and confounded by a lack of a clear voice coming from communities. It will take international, national and community level efforts to overcome these challenges.
HOW TO CITE: Gittens, L., 2026. What is the Right Balance Between International Management and the Involvement of Fishing Communities in the Management of Caribbean Spiny Lobster Fisheries? Contribution 6.6, p439-442 IN CRFM, 2026. Volume I: Technical Papers. Presented at the CRFM 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2023. CRFM Special Publication No. 37, CRFM Secretariat https://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=936
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