Fisheries and aquaculture, including mariculture, supports food security, sustainable livelihoods, trade, employment, and even cross-sectoral growth across the Caribbean economy—both the blue and the green economies which span sectors across terrestrial and coastal marine expanses.

Small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in Member States of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) employ almost 540,000 people, including women and youth, accounting for 6% of the labour force of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), according to data compiled and analysed by Mrs. June Masters, Statistics and Information Analyst at the CRFM Secretariat.

Across the seventeen CRFM Member States, almost 130,000 fishers—approximately 10% of them females—harvested an estimated 150,000 tonnes of seafood valued at US$527 million during 2023, from the marine capture fisheries.

Since 2003, the domestic marine capture fisheries of CRFM Member States had contributed 40% to total sector production, whereas the high seas fisheries (still active only in Belize) added 58%, and aquaculture (including seamoss mariculture) - 2% to the total fish production.

Marine capture fisheries production stood at 335,196 tonnes (in live weight) in 2023, although over the prior 21 years (2003-2024), the annual average was 389,473 tonnes.

From 2023 to 2024, CRFM Member States imported approximately 87,200 tonnes of fish and fish products valued at US$ 348.4 million annually, while the countries exported 47,000 tonnes valued at US$ 231 million.

For the period spanning 2004 to 2022, the annual average value of seafood traded between CARICOM countries was estimated at US$50 million. The fish exports with the highest average values were fish fillets and frozen fish. Exports across the region included live fish, fish dried, salted or in brine, and smoked fish.

Noting an overall decline in marine capture fisheries production and an opportunity to improve growth and employment in the fisheries and aquaculture sector across CARICOM, Ministers responsible for fisheries, aquaculture and the blue economy in CRFM Member States took a bold and decisive move to set new goals. The Ministers deliberated and formulated their decisions during the 16^th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM)—an institution of CARICOM—convened on September 30, 2025, in Saint Kitts and Nevis, during Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2025.

Leveraging data to improve production and earnings

At its 14^th Special Meeting convened during the 18^th Caribbean Week of Agriculture, held in 2024 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Council had stressed the need for the CRFM to take the lead in transforming the statistics and information into actionable knowledge through focused assessments and analyses of the data. It charged the CRFM Secretariat to develop prescriptive measures geared at optimising Caribbean blue economic growth and sustainable aquaculture (including mariculture), as well as to improve the production metrics and earnings for those working in the sector across CRFM Member States. At its recently held meeting, the Council set a timeline of early 2026 for the CRFM Secretariat to report back on actions taken to deliver upon this mandate.

Strengthening CARICOM’s Labour Force

Via Resolution No. SMC 16 (02) of 2025, passed in September 2025, the Council furthermore requested the development of an action plan for increasing employment in the fisheries and aquaculture sector over the next 5 years, from the current reported level of 6% of the CARICOM labour force.

It recommended that attention be given to value-added products and processing as a means of boosting employment opportunities in the fisheries and aquaculture (including mariculture) sector.

Boosting intraregional trade in CARICOM

Another noteworthy decision passed by the Council is its directive for the CRFM Secretariat to present a special report to the Council for adoption in 2026, on strategies for improving fisheries trade—with a focus on intraregional trade—using the lessons learned from experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CRFM Ministerial Council showed keen interest in reports from the CRFM Secretariat signaling that intra-regional trade yielded notable improvements during the pandemic and post-pandemic period. Intra-regional trade—that is, trade in fisheries and aquaculture products between CARICOM countries—accounts for approximately 15% of CARICOM’s regional trade, according to data available to the CRFM.

For the period spanning 2004 to 2022, the annual average value of seafood traded between CARICOM countries was estimated at US$50 million. The fish exports with the highest average values were fish fillets and frozen fish. Exports across the region included live fish, fish dried, salted or in brine, and smoked fish.