Abstract

Sustainable fisheries are fundamental to livelihoods in the coastal fishing community of Conset Bay. Fishing is part of the cultural maritime heritage of the area. Acknowledging the importance of fisheries, and the need for a collaborative approach in which fisheries stakeholders and the wider community play active roles in sustainable fisheries management, a code for promoting sustainable fisheries at Conset Bay was formulated. The local sustainable fisheries code was a component of the project “Up-scaling Sustainable Resource Management in Coastal Watershed Communities of Barbados’ National Park and System of Open Spaces”. It was a collaborative effort by the Government of Barbados, United Nations Environment Programme and The University of the West Indies. The development of the Code was participatory. The contents of the Code were developed through collectively reviewing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and documents related to small-scale fisheries. A video was produced in which fisherfolk inform the wider community of the importance of adhering to the CCRF. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and discussions were held with the Conset Bay advocacy group, a core group of interested fisherfolk, to decide upon the key principles of the Code. At the end of the participatory process, nine principles emerged which were fully supported by fisheries stakeholders. A poster was created and plans have been made for promoting uptake by the wider community. This experience of learning-by-doing to build capacity and stewardship in a fishing community contains lessons for future participatory processes and approaches to scaling up the Code.

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