Antigua St John's - The Fourth Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Ministerial Council wrapped up on Friday with participants accepting the draft agreement establishing the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy, as recommended by the Ninth Meeting of the Caribbean Fisheries Forum held in Guyana in April.

Twelve ministers from across the region with fisheries portfolio representing Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago converged for the CRFM Ministerial Council on May 20.

The Policy is intended to foster effective co-operation and collaboration among participating states in the conservation, management, and sustainable use of the fisheries resources and related ecosystems in the region, to secure the maximum benefits from those resources for the Caribbean's people.

The accepted draft agreement will now be submitted, through the appropriate channels, to the Conference of Heads of Government for consideration.

Member States, during deliberations at the one-day meeting at the Jolly Beach Resort, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the region, and the co-ordinating and management role of the CRFM Secretariat.

Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment Hilson Baptiste assumed the chairmanship of the CRFM Ministerial Council from his St Lucian counterpart, Ezechiel Joseph.

Read more: CARIBARENA Antigua