Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Saboto Caesar will chair a regional Conference, to be hosted virtually next week by the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, CRFM.

Caribbean Ministers responsible for Fisheries and Blue Economic Growth are scheduled to meet on Monday, 4 October, with representatives from the Government of Norway, the CARICOM Secretariat and other regional and international development partners. The purpose of the conference is to take decisive action to strengthen regional and international co-operation at the political level to combat and eradicate the scourge of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and transnational organized crime in the fisheries sector.

Some Ministers will deliver brief statements on the issues and then sign the International Declaration on Transnational Organized Crime in the Global Fishing Industry, which has already been adopted by 36 other countries. Following the Ministerial meeting, the CRFM plans to convene a regional technical meeting with fisheries and security officials to map out specific needs and to agree on at least one high-priority intervention that will benefit all CRFM Member States.

The forum is one of a series of Ministerial meetings which will be held during the 16th celebration of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture. The week will be observed virtually for the first time during the week of 4-8 October, with the theme: “Transforming our Food Systems”. The CRFM will also convene the 11th Special Meeting of the Ministerial Council on Monday afternoon.

SOURCE: National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)