official outcomes of the 62nd gulf of caribbean …

Proceedings of the 62nd Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute November 2 - 6, 2009 Cumana, Venezuela

OFFICIAL OUTCOMES OF THE 62nd

GULF OF CARIBBEAN FISHERIES INSTITUTE

ANNUAL MEETING

2 NOVEMBER 2009 - 7 NOVEMBER 2009

CUMANÁ, VENEZUELA

HOSTED BY:

Instituto Oceanografico de Venezuela - Universidad de Oriente

62nd Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute

INTRODUCTION

From November 2 - 6, 2009, more than 250 fisheries biologists, students, scientists, marine protected area (MPA)

researchers, managers, fishermen, and representatives from various government departments and conservation groups

fromCaribbean countries met in Cumaná, Venezuela, to explore how they might build networks of people, institutions, and

protected areas to further the conservation of marine resources, habitats and fisheries throughout the region.The 62nd Gulf

Caribbean Fisheries Institute was held at the Nuevo Toledo Suite and Hotel in Cumaná, Venezuela and hosted by the

Instituto Oceanografico de Venezuela- Universidad de Oriente. The annual meeting opened with a welcome from Dr.

Alejandro Acosta, chairman of the program committee, and followed by the words of invited local and international

dignitaries, such as: H.E. Dr. Mikko Pyhälä, Ambassador of Finland to Venezuela, concurrent in Barbados, Colombia,

As many of you know, this past November during the annual GCFI meeting we received the sad

notice of the passing of one of the great supporters and past member of the Board of Directors of

GCFI,. Dr. Bob Ditton, former professor in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas

A&M University since 1988 and a faculty member in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tour-

ism Sciences there since 1974. Bob was an extraordinary educator, researcher, administrator, and lead-

er, who touched all of our lives, and represented the best in our field. His career was dedicated to en-

suring the success of Coastal Zone Management, recreational fisheries, and human dimensions of fish-

ermen and fishing communities. In his memory and in recognition of his high spirit, GCFI dedicated

the 62nd Annual Meeting to Robert Ditton, Ph.D.

Dr. D. Pauly Dr. A. Acosta Dr. M. Pyhälä Dr. F. Arocha


Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and the Plenipotentiary Representative Designate to

CARICOM. The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Daniel Pauly, professor and former director of the Fisheries Centre,

University of British Columbia; Principal Investigator, Sea Around Us Project. This was a stimulating meeting hosting

distinguished national and international presenters, giving the audience an update on the Future and Vision of Caribbean

fisheries. A high point of the meeting was having Dr. Pauly challenge the audience with his visionary and conservationist

presentation "If you didn‟t like overfishing, you sure won't like global warming”. We were fortunate that he kindly

remained for the whole week and many of the participants, especially students, had the opportunity to interact and exchange

ideas with him. Seventy-five oral and 86 poster presentations were delivered during the five days of the meeting, covering a

wide range of topics such as, Biology, Ecology, and Assessment of Reef Fishes, Biology, Ecology, and Assessment of

Marine Invertebrate Fisheries, Fish Spawning Aggregations, Management and Socio-Economics of Marine Fisheries,

Science and Management of Marine Protected Areas, Pelagic and Recreational Fisheries, Essential Fish Habitats, and

Marine Aquaculture. Two special sessions and two concurrent workshops were hosted: Are Tropical Bottom Trawl

Fisheries Sustainable? Implications and Alternatives‟; Success Stories in Marine Conservation in the Wider Caribbean:

applying Ecosystem-Based Management and Facing the Climate Change‟; Marine Invasive Species: Invasive Lionfish

Biology and Management in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and Characterization and prediction of transient reef

fish spawning aggregations in the Gulf and Caribbean Region.. In addition to the special session and the two concurrent

workshops The Gladding Memorial Award Fishers‟ Summit was conducted; the purpose of the Fishers‟ Summit is to bring

together past winners of the Gladding Memorial Award to participate in a facilitated workshop focusing on developing

priorities for the long-term sustainability of the marine resources in the region from their perspective. The summit recogniz-

es that sustainable use of marine resources in the region depends upon fishers being „at the table‟ during discussions on how

best to achieve this goal.

Are Tropical Bottom Trawl Fisheries Sustainable? Implications and Alternatives

Session Moderator: JEREMY MENDOZA

Tropical bottom trawl fisheries are an important economic activity in many countries in the world. However, this

fishing method has been strongly criticized due to technical and biological conflicts with other fisheries, especially concern

for the environmental impacts associated with gear effects on bottom habitats, and the high degree of removal of noncom-

mercial marine organisms. Bottom trawling in tropical ecosystems represents a challenge to fishery agencies, fisheries

managers, and technology specialists. This especial session evolved as a result of a permanent ban on bottom trawling

initiated in Venezuela this year. The session took place during the afternoon of Monday 2 November. A total of 10

presentations focused on bottom trawl fisheries in Venezuela, Colombia and the French Guyana.

The majority of the presentations focused on the following three problems:

i) Overfishing in the case of Venezuela,

ii) The description of research projects directed to reduce the capture of non-commercial species (bycatch), and

iii) The effects of shrimp bottom trawling on the marine ecosystems (Venezuela, Colombia, and French Guyana).

In the Venezuelan case, industrial bottom trawl fishing was prohibited in March 2009. It was apparent that this

situation was created by the lack of suitable management measures, accompanied by direct and indirect economic stimuli,


as well as an over-estimation of the potential yield of the fisheries resources by using surplus production models. This

resulted in excessive fishing capacity and over exploitation of the demersal resources by the decade ending in 1990 in

practically all the areas fished At that time, some measures were implemented to limit and reduce the fishing effort and to

avoid the incorporation of new fishing units However, in spite of a considerable reduction in the number of boats and in

fishing effort from 1990 to 2008, the majority of the resources exploited in the different trawl fishing areas of the country

still exhibited signs of overfishing at the time of the closing of the trawl fishery in 2009.

Although an analysis of the temporal evolution of the Colombian shrimp trawl fisheries was not presented, the

information provided by Colombian colleagues indicated that the trawl fishing fleet in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

collapsed in 2004 due to the high price of fuel and to the low yield of the principle targeted species. This fishery used to

consist of around 100 trawlers; currently the number of operating vessels does not exceed 10. Whereas in the case of the

French Guyana, where the trawl fishery is the second most important economic activity related to fishing, the Colombian

fishery is subject to strict regulations, and an agreement is now in place between the different user groups to look at the

sustainability of this fisheries over time and in coexistence with the artisanal fishing sector. In the discussion subsequent to

the presentations, questions arose related to the capacity of the artisanal fishery to supply fishery resources in the absence of

an industrial trawl fishery and, also, divergent points of view were presented on the economic and environmental sustaina-

bility of trawl fishing.

With reference to Venezuelan, it was suggested that the long-term availability of marine fishery products, would be

possible with the development of a multipurpose commercial fleet based on the conversion of a portion of the trawl fleet,

together with the development of an artificial reef program using the derelict trawlers, especially because of the reduced

fishing pressure. However, there were doubts about the effectiveness of an artificial reef program, since the debate on the

effect of these devices on the productivity of marine resources is still open. On the other hand, it was also indicated that the

emptiness left by the commercial trawl fishery is being filled by artisanal shrimp trawlers which operate in coastal areas. It

was also mentioned that the uncontrolled growth of this activity would carry serious environmental problems and conflicts

with other artisanal fisheries. Some of the participants to the session considered the elimination of bottom trawl fishing in

Venezuela was a highly positive outcome because of the well-known negative effects that trawl fishing has on marine

biodiversity and the overall ecosystem. Others argued that the elimination of this fishery presented a good opportunity for

the development of aquaculture. Nevertheless, these points of view were contested by others who considered that fisheries

science today is capable of developing and applying new methods and technologies in order to mitigate the detrimental

effects of trawl fishing on marine ecosystems. It was also mentioned that aquaculture, especially for top predators species

(carnivorous species), is not without its own environmental problems.

In reference to the main subject of the session: „Are Tropical Bottom Trawl Fisheries Sustainable?‟, it is not possible to

say that a general consensus was reached at the end of the session. On one hand, there were some who maintained that this

type of fisheries has extremely negative effects on the ecosystems and that, therefore, they would have to be replaced by

more selective fishing gear that creates a smaller impact on benthic communities. On the other hand, there were those who

maintained that with suitable measures of management and modifications to the trawl gear, it is possible to diminish the

negative impact of these fisheries and to assure its sustainability over time. These opposing points of view are not restricted

to the tropics, and a good example of it was presented in the keynote address for the conference by Dr. Daniel Pauly, who

pleaded for elimination of industrial fisheries at global levels and also argued for the design of a global network of marine

protected areas as an essential element to assure the future of the fishing activity as a source of food and for the mainte-

nance of biodiversity.


Naturally, the sustainability of any fishery will largely depend on the context in which it is developed. It is clear that in

the case of trawl fishery in Venezuela, the managers of the fishery did not take the necessary measures to avoid the

overexpansion of the fishery and the consequent overfishing of the resources. At the same time, it did not have the neces-

sary resources to manage and monitor the fishery in order to effectively minimize the conflicts between the industrial trawl

fishery and the artisanal fishery. In any case, the Venezuelan government and the scientific community now have the

opportunity and the challenge to demonstrate the ecological and socioeconomic benefits that could be derived from the

elimination of this trawl fishery. The other two cases presented, Colombia and French Guyana, are also very interesting

from the point of view of the capacity of the fisheries managers to regulate these fisheries. In the case of Colombia, there

was a collapse of the trawl fishery due to economic and biological reasons, and the actual size of the fishing fleet only

represents around 10% maximum capacity of the fleet. In the case of a substantial increase of the levels of abundance of

fisheries resources due to the decrease of the fishing effort, a new development cycle can be anticipated that would put a

test to the capacity of the management agencies of that country to limit the fishing effort and to reduce the environmental

impact of trawl fishing. Finally, French Guyana‟s trawl fishery appears as a mature fishery with strict controls and regula-

tions with an emphasis in the reduction of fuel consumption and bycatch.

Success Stories in Marine Resource Management and Conservation in the Wider Caribbean:

Applying an Ecosystem-based Approach and Facing the Climate Change

Session Moderator: GEORGINA BUSTAMANTE

The special session “Success Stories in Marine Resource Management and Conservation in the Wider Caribbean:

Applying an Ecosystem-based Approach and Facing the Climate Change” took place on the fourth day of the 62nd Annual

Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), with the attendance of ca. 25 fishers, more than 120 scien-

tists, students, professors and marine resources managers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. The

session, coordinated by CaMPAM (Caribbean Marine Protected Area Management Network and Forum) and GCFI, with

the financial support of the United Nation‟s Caribbean Environment Programme, (UNEP-CEP), Buccoo Reef Trust, and the

Embassies of Finland and Holland to Venezuela, was the Caribbean version of the scientific meetings that took place in

many parts of the world to celebrate the successes and identify the challenges in marine ecosystem-based management. The

20 oral and poster presentations included case studies on the development of marine reserves (Sian Ka‟an, México; Gladden

Spitt and Port of Honduras, Belize; Seaflower, Colombia; Soufriere, St. Lucia, and Tobago Cays, St. Vincent and the

Grenadines), queen conch management, and regional fisher folks organizations and its influence in fisheries policy.

The presentations and discussions showed the following common elements, namely:

i) The areas are managed for environmental protection and socioeconomic benefits;

ii) A combination of areas of regulated fishing with no-take areas;

iii) The early participation of the local community in the establishment and enforcement of regulations;

iv) Fishers and tour operators in cooperatives work better;

v) Exclusive rights for local traditional users can limit access to resources;

vi) An entrepreneurial approach of the managed area has helped to achieve financial sustainability;

vii) Communication and network facilitates the exchange of experiences;

viii) Training fishers on economic alternatives has facilitated the transit to non-extractive uses, and

ix) Public education is critical for raising awareness and increase support.

Challenges still exist, but there are clear changes in the awareness of those that depend on marine resources for their

livelihood and a growing alliance with scientists that may allow a radical transformation of the mentality of everyone

towards making responsible (sustainable) marine resources management practices a critical tool to build ecosystem

resilience to local and global climate impacts.


growing consensus that transient reef fish spawning aggregations (FSA) appear to be located at geomorphologically distinct

areas throughout the wider Caribbean. All multi-species FSA sites in Belize and the Cayman Islands occur at reef promon-

tories with steep walls adjacent to deep water. This pattern was also observed at many multi-species FSA sites in the US

Virgin Islands, Cuba, Bermuda, and Florida. This pattern does not hold for all sites or all species. At some sites fish

aggregate in association with vertical bumps near shelf edges, rather than, or in addition to their proximity to reef promon-

tories (e.g. Riley‟s Hump in Florida). Red hind spawning sites are generally found shallower than FSA sites for other

groupers and snappers, on relatively flat areas, inshore from shelf edges. Workshop attendees advanced the hypothesis that

reef geomorphology, particularly vertical and/or horizontal promontories, serves as proxies for the locations of multi-

species FSA sites for transient spawning groupers and snappers in the wider Caribbean.

Marine Invasive Species:

Invasive Lionfish Biology and Management in

the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico

Session Moderators: LAD AKINS and STEPHANIE

GREEN

This Special Workshop targeted to managers, NGO's,

and fisheries officials throughout the Caribbean and Gulf

of Mexico. The Workshop addressed relevant lionfish

issues emphasizing a range of topics including: biology

and ecology, status of the invasion, strategies for control

and management, current treaties and agreements, and

volunteer programs to monitor reef communities. This

workshop was of special relevance due to the discovery of

lionfish in Venezuelan waters last December.

Historically known grouper and snapper spawning aggrega-tions sites in the wider Caribbean

Spawning Aggregation Workshop:

Characterization and Prediction of Transient

Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations in the Gulf

and Caribbean Region

Session Moderators: WILL HEYMAN and RICK

NEMETH

Approximately 50 people attended the workshop and

they included fishermen, scientists and managers from 20

countries. After seeing presentations from various

locations in the region, workshop attendees supported a

Gladding Memorial Award Fishers Summit:

Fishers Working for Sustainable Fisheries

Session Moderators: WILL HEYMAN and ANDERSON

KINCH

In 2004, the Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute

(GCFI) with United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) and other partners developed the Gladding

Memorial Award (GMA), named in honor of patriarch

fisherman Peter Gladding. The award annually recognizes

fishers who demonstrate, through word and action, their

commitment to sustainable use and conservation of

marine resources in the Greater Caribbean region. To date,

thirteen fishers have received the award (see list at Annex

1), representing 11 countries around the region. Visit the

GCFI web site at http://www.gcfi.org/PGMA/ PeterGlad-

dingMemorialAward.html for more information on the

award and the winners.


The GMA is a fundamental part of GCFI‟s Fisheries for Fishers Initiative which provides capacity and empowers

fishers to participate in the regional marine resource governance process, which also includes successful Fishers Forums

held at the 2007 and 2008 GCFI annual meetings (CERMES and CRFM 2007, CERMES 2009). The ethic of long-term

sustainability endorsed by GMA recipients, in concert with their accomplishments and commitment to engage fishers and

other stakeholders in the wise use and conservation of regional marine resources, attest to the success of the GMA program.

Momentum has grown around the GMA, fueled by the fishers themselves, and the reality that there are no other

initiatives in the region that are attempting to support fisher best practices at this scale. The GMA Committee and the GCFI

Board of Directors has initiated a controlled expansion of the GMA initiative to utilize more of the award‟s growing

potential. To actualize these opportunities, a GMA Summit, the Gladding Memorial Award Regional Fishers Summit, with

the sub-title „Fishers Working for Sustainable Fisheries‟ was planned and implemented as a principal component of the

62nd Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) that took place in Cumaná, Venezuela from 2-6 November 2009. This

year local GMA winner for 2009 was Ruben Penott, a local, fishermen from Mochima National Park a fishermen town

located few miles east of Cumana. Ruben has been managing the marine station for the last 12 years and he is a leader

among Mochima fishermen‟s. He was the organizer of the Fishers Field Trip to the biological station at the beautiful

Mochima National Park and the town of Mochima. Over 30 fishers and other GCFI participants on this field trip visited the

aquaculture project for rearing spadefish at the station.

Outputs (by year end)

i) Priorities for Caribbean marine resource conservation action identified using a bottom-up, fisher-lead process.

ii) Specific follow-up strategies and action plans for implementation developed following the priorities identified

above. At a minimum, these will include:

a) A sustainable fishery ambassador program

b) An expanded fisher exchange program

c) A media campaign to promote the priorities and actions identified during the Summit.

Outcomes (within 3 years)

i) Better involvement of leading fishers in local to regional scale decision-making on fisheries resources.

ii) Evidence of improvement in the health of coastal and marine ecosystems and in the prosperity of the fishers that

rely on them.

The GCFI and its partner the Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Network and Management Forum (CaMPAM), with

financial support from the Caribbean Environmental Program of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP)

and other regional and national institutions (Buccoo Reef Trust, U.S. NOAA and other government and private institutions

are providing technical assistance for fishers and marine managed area s (AMM) to accelerate this process of change.

Among activities include the exchange between fishermen and AMM staff to better disseminate best practices, the

production of film materials to disseminate the training, and the creation of economic alternatives and high quality and

fishresponsibly fished products.

CONCLUSIONS

The GCFI expressed its sincere gratitude to Universidad de Oriente for organizing the Conference and to all the

Governments, NGO‟s and private donors for their support to the Conference. The aim of the Gulf of Caribbean Fisheries

around the region and by focusing in the challenges and opportunities presented in today‟s rapidly changing status of marine

resources, with special emphasis on sustainability and conservation of marine resources.

Peter Gladding


Some of the key recommendations, statements and comments emerging from the conference special symposiums

And presentations were as follows:

i) The attendees valued the opportunity to have a forum to address and discuss their shared challenges and successes.

Especially among fishermen, scientist, students and managers.

ii) As part of networking, emphasis should be made to transfer essential skills, resources and capacity building to

researchers, fishermen and management staff in less developed countries to help them obtain the data necessary to

develop and effectively manage marine resources, MPAs and SPAGs aggregation sites.

iii) The use of global databases covering environmental, oceanographic and marine species may assist progress in the

identification of critical habitat (SPAGs) and implementation of MPAs.

iv) The local participation on global databases covering invasive species threat such as Lion fish should be encour-

aged. Few weeks after the GCFI Lion fish symposium, Lion fish were spotted for the first time in Venezuelan

waters. To further develop the fisher ambassadors program and expand the exchange program among fishermen.

The conference concluded with the announcement of San Juan, Puerto Rico as the host city for the GCFI 2010 Annual

Meeting.

2009 Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute Summary 2009 was a great year for GCFI, this past year we exceed our own expectations in many fronts. The web page was

redesign to make it more functional and friendly for our members. Thanks to Bob Glazer for his great job in maintaining

and keeping the web page and the list server. From the Editorial Corner, we were able to publish the proceedings of the 61st

institute before the 62nd meeting and we are proud to announce that all the proceedings for the GCFI meeting are now

available for free at the GCFI web page. Members can download all the papers and abstracts from all the GCFI meetings.

Last year, we launched the student exchange program placing thee students from Guadeloupe in internships here in the

US. During last meeting, we met with representatives of French Antilles in order to work further cooperation agreements in

this area. The Gladding Memorial Award continue to be one of GCFI strongest initiative. This year we recognized three

fishermen from the Caribbean (Venezuela, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island) with this award. In 2009 we hosted a

planning fishing forum in Miami (May) to define the strategy and goals of the meeting Fishers Forum. Participation and

results from both activities were very well received.

Our partnership with UNEP and CAMPAM has grown to a new level. The Training for Trainers (ToT) program is

becoming very popular among Caribbean countries and the Small Grant Funds program is growing and expanding the

network of exchanges throughout the region.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We all know that this meeting was full of logistical surprises everyday, however, the meeting run very well and this was due to the diligence and help

of many people. We would like to thank to all the moderators and special session coordinators to: Juan Posada, Denise Debrot, Fernando Morales, Emma

Doyle, Fiona Wiltmot, Juan carlos Fernandez, Read Hedom; the staff and students of the Instituto Oceanografico, the staff of the Hotel Nueva Toledo, Jerry Corsaut as always was our go to person.

Thank you to all the participants and all the sponsors who made the 62nd GCFI a success.

Sincerely,

Alejandro Acosta, Program Chair 62nd GCFI, Leroy Creswell., Executive secretary

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