Food for Thought: Fisheries and Aquaculture Contributions to Food Security in the Caribbean

James During¹, Chris Milley¹*, Maria Delesalle¹, Sara Vanderkaden¹, and Shannon Wood¹

NEXUS Coastal Resource Management Ltd., 103-287 Suite 222, Lacewood Dr., Halifax NS, B3M3Y7¹

^*Corresponding Author Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABSTRACT

The past four years have seen a variety of external shocks that have had independent and cumulative impacts on food security throughout the world. For the Caribbean, extreme weather events, the Covid-19 pandemic, global energy crises, and ongoing international conflicts have all demonstrated the vulnerability of food systems in the region. Such exacerbated vulnerabilities have contributed to increased food prices, disruptions to food availability, accessibility, and diversity, and an overreliance on external trade. Cumulative trade deficits, in tandem with international instability and climate change, has visible negative socio-economic outcomes, particularly regarding local food system security, sovereignty, and sustainability.

Fisheries and aquaculture with a directed interest in local markets can play an important role in advancing food security and food sovereignty in the Caribbean. Progressive enhancement of the local supply and value chain through local production, processing, and consumption can promote tandem growth in adjacent sectors, facilitating cumulative capacity building for the future. NEXUS Coastal Resource Management, Ltd., through multiple projects in the region, offers a synthesis of various issues in the interest of expanding current discourse on local marine protein production, processing, accessibility, and consumption. Supported by our experience across the Caribbean, this paper examines some of the considerations necessary to promote greater use of the local fisheries and aquaculture sectors in promoting food security and food sovereignty in the Caribbean.

HOW TO CITE: During, J., C. Milley, M. Delesalle, S. Vanderkaden, and S. Wood, 2026.  Food for Thought: Fisheries and Aquaculture Contributions to Food Security in the Caribbean.  Contribution 1.2, p14-25 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 Secretariathttps://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=896 

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St. George’s, Grenada, 13 May 2015 (CRFM): Fisheries Ministers from Member States of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) are expected to sign off on the Declaration on Spiny Lobster by way of a resolution, when they convene the 9th Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the CRFM on Friday, 15 May 2015 at Flamboyant Hotel in St. George's, Grenada.

The non-binding declaration establishes a roadmap for closer cooperation among the 17 CARICOM/CRFM States to ensure long-term conservation and sustainable use of the lobster resources.

The Ministerial Council meeting is scheduled to open at 9:00 a.m. The feature address will be delivered by Honourable Roland Bhola, Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Grenada, who will assume the chairmanship of the Council on the occasion of the meeting from Honourable Johnson Drigo, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dominica.

Milton Haughton, Executive Director of the CRFM Secretariat in Belize, said: “This is another important policy-level meeting of the CRFM Member States as they seek to strengthen cooperative arrangements, to realize the full development potential of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in the region.

“Our vision and long-term goal is to transform the region’s fisheries and aquaculture into sustainable systems, in order to optimize the sector’s contribution to food and nutritional security, improved livelihoods and wealth generation, through the application of science and technology, good governance, and inclusive, sustainable development strategies.”

When they meet this Friday, the Caribbean Fisheries Ministers will be reviewing the progress being made in the implementation of existing policy instruments and programs. In charting the way forward, they will also make decisions on the next steps in the transformation process.

High on their agenda will be the endorsement of the process now underway to develop the Plan of Action to facilitate the implementation of the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy (CCCFP).

The Fisheries Ministers will also discuss an initiative recently announced by the Government of the United States during the Caribbean Energy Summit on climate risk insurance for the Caribbean fisheries sector. This is in line with efforts to achieve Climate Smart Food Security (CSFS) using a Risk Insurance Facility (RIF).

The Ministerial Council will finally receive a full report on the outcome and recommendations of the 13th Meeting of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum, held in St. George’s, Grenada at the end of March this year.

The Ministerial Council of the CRFM is the arm of the CRFM which has primary responsibility for determining the policies of the organisation, resource allocation, cooperative agreements, and related decision-making.