10. Since this was the first meeting of its kind for the subregion, the Secretariat provided the following background information to the participants to place the Conference in perspective.
11. The coming into force of the 1982 Convention of the Law of the Sea, the recent international agreements such as the 1993 Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement), the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1995 UN Agreement on High Seas Fishery), and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, have all stressed the need for international cooperation among states through organizations at subregional, regional, and global levels, for the conservation, management and utilization of living aquatic resources. These developments have generated renewed interest in collaboration at the regional level.
12. These recent agreements emphasized the need for collaboration and cooperation in the management of shared, straddling and highly migratory stocks. Where only a few countries are involved, this may be achieved through bilateral or multilateral arrangements. Where several countries are involved, they are required to identify or establish an organization or arrangement to undertake management, and to participate in the activities of that organization. Failure to participate does not absolve a country of its responsibility to abide by the decisions of the organization or arrangement.
13. All the agreements include reference to the Precautionary Approach to fisheries management that stipulates that countries do not delay management action on the basis of a lack of information. In such cases, countries should proceed to manage with the best available scientific information and should adopt a conservative approach to management.
14. The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries stresses the importance of subregional and regional organizations e.g. paragraph 7.3.4. states:
States and, where appropriate, subregional or regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements should foster and promote international cooperation and coordination in all matters related to fisheries, including information gathering and exchange, fisheries research, management and development.
15. The Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) was established in 1973 by Resolution 4/61 of the FAO Council under Article 4 of the FAO Constitution in light of the challenges faced by the fishing nations operating in the area. The purpose of the Commission was to assist in international cooperation efforts for the conservation, development and utilization of living aquatic resources, especially shrimp, of the Western Central Atlantic region. WECAFC is a fisheries management advisory body.
16. The Members of WECAFC are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, European Community, France, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela.
17. The WECAFC Ad Hoc Working Group on Shrimp and Groundfish Fisheries in the Brazil-Guianas Shelf has been working over the past six years on the assessment of the status of major commercial shrimp and groundfish species in the Brazil-Guianas Shelf. The member countries of the Ad Hoc Working Group are Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. These countries share a common marine ecosystem, the Brazil-Guianas Shelf. The CARICOM Fisheries Programme supported the activities of the Ad Hoc Working Group.
18. The Ad Hoc Working Group recognized that the results of its assessments have implications for the management and conservation of the fisheries resources of the Brazil-Guiana Shelf, most of which are shared or straddling stocks. In this regard, the group recommended that the results of its analyses should be communicated to fisheries managers and the political directorate responsible for fisheries in the participating countries so that management and policy decisions can be adopted.
19. Based on this recommendation FAO organized the Meeting of Fisheries Managers and Ministers of the WECAFC Ad Hoc Working Group, 26-29 March 2001, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
20. At the Meeting of Fisheries Managers and Ministers, the Government of Suriname proposed, and it was agreed, that a meeting be convened of representatives of the fishing industry, fisheries managers and scientists of the countries participating in the WECAFC Ad Hoc Working Group. The aim was to discuss the status of shrimp and groundfish resources in the Brazil-Guianas Shelf and other matters of interest to the industry.
21. The proposal from Suriname was stimulated by the fact that all the countries of the Brazil-Guianas Region were experiencing declines in the catches of shrimp. The decreasing trend in catches and the concerns regarding the social and economic implications derived from inadequate fisheries management were generally the same in each country. Non-sustainable fisheries management could impact on income, employment, food supply, foreign currency earnings, and the loss of natural resources.
22. Given the shared nature of many of the important fisheries resources of the Brazil-Guianas Shelf and the need for regional approaches to fisheries management and conservation, the Trinidad and Tobago meeting was of a strong view that the stakeholders should meet as a group to discuss the results of the assessments conducted by the Ad Hoc Working Group. The results from the Group have implications for sustainable fisheries production in the region.
