The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has joined the growing membership of the IMCS Network in early May 2022. Fisheries administrators and compliance and enforcement officers from Trinidad and Tobago will now join more than 70 national, regional and international organizations and agencies benefitting from a variety of MCS capacity building programs facilitated by the Network to target IUU fishing and improve fisheries MCS and compliance approaches.
“The Network is thrilled to increase our member representation in the Caribbean; fisheries officers and inspectors in Trinidad and Tobago are now well positioned to take advantage of additional opportunities for collaborations in MCS capacity building in the Caribbean, where fisheries resources are of a high value and global ecological importance but also under constant threat from IUU fishing and illicit fishing activities”
Mark Young, Executive Director, IMCS Network.
The exploitation of fisheries in Trinidad and Tobago has left local fishermen competing for smaller catch much farther from shore, and this has left local citizens paying more for seafood imports. Many important fish stocks, including king mackerel, are overfished while some populations have passed the thresholds used to gauge exploitation and predict stock collapse. Other resources such as lobster and deep shell resources might be underexploited. As such, resource management is a primary focus for Trinidad and Tobago, where fisheries are mainly artisanal and support local families and small-scale, low-capacity businesses.
Since Trinidad and Tobago ratified the FAO PSMA in 2019, the Fisheries Division has worked to implement effective port inspection programs. These efforts position the Ministry to share its growing port inspection experiences and expertise with a global community. Resources made available through the IMCS Network will further assist the Fisheries Division in accessing emerging technologies and other resources. The IMCS Network offers Trinidad and Tobago and other Network members options to request or coordinate MCS assistance and support either directly from, or facilitated by, the Network. Trinidad and Tobago can now also participate, with other Network members in the 7th GFETW.