Volume 76
The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in Sustainable Fisheries in the Caribbean
Authors
Acosta, A., R. Glazer, A. J. Adams, R. E. Boucek, E. Boné-Morón, P. McConney, and J. R. Delgado Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2023
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Sixth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Nassau
Country: The Bahamas
Abstract
NGOs have played a significant role in promoting sustainable development at the international and local level in the Caribbean. NGOs such as: universities, Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT), Fundación Caribe Sur, and others that focus on ocean issues and are greatly involved with fisheries have made important efforts to elevate the importance of fishing and fisherfolks in the region’s economy and fisheries sustainability. These NGOs and their members are crucial stakeholders with well-developed and influential social networks that can increase initiatives, messages, and campaigns for the engagement of fishers and the protection of recreational fisheries resources. National and regional NGOs have identified that fisheries sustainability requires more transdisciplinary and transboundary thinking, stakeholder collaborations, and improved public, decision-maker, and fisher scientific literacy. It is evident from the case studies throughout the region that NGOs are playing a key role in research, capacity building, and the dissemination of management strategies and providing a forum for collaborative meetings among stakeholders (industry, public, academia, and governments).