Fishery Sector Assessment: Antigua/Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher/Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & Grenadines

Goodwin, Melvin; Orbach, Michael; Sandifer, Paul; Towle, Edward; Berliner, Leni

1. The fisheries sector of the Eastern Caribbean has been historically perceived as having relatively minor importance. There is, however, increasing recognition of its potential significance to such problems as balance of payments, unemployment, stimulation of local economies, and nutrition. Due to a variety of limitations, the scale of development that is possible in Eastern Caribbean fisheries is modest in global terms yet significant on the small island scale. The issue of scale and applicability to local circumstances is critical to effective development of the fisheries sector in the RDO/C region. 2. Fisheries development typically places greater emphasis upon technological innovations to the harvest component of the sector than upon processes of biological production. As a result, such development typically leads to at least temporary collapse of target fisheries. The consequences of overcapitalization and unrestricted access are much more severe in developing countries than elsewhere, and it is doubtful that the RDO/C countries have sufficient "buffer capacity" to tolerate massive collapse of local fisheries. For this reason, management and innovation are considered complementary and inseparable elements of the fisheries development process for the Eastern Caribbean. 3. Information on the fisheries resource base in the RDO/C countries is reviewed. Some resources - especially nearshore species - are widely acknowledged to be overexploited and seriously in need of management. There is no indication that underexploited resources exist on a scale suitable for large-scale commercial development, but there is potential for constructive development on the small-island scale, particularly of deepwater and migratory pelagic resources. (See attached pdf for remaining Summary; 4-8)