Abstract

FAO/Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission.

Report of the first Regional Conference on the Sustainability of Fisheries Resources in the Brazil-Guianas Shelf. Paramaribo, Suriname, 5-7 March 2002.

FAO Fisheries Report. No. 676. Rome, FAO. 2002. 27p.

This document is the final version of the report of the First Regional Conference on the Sustainability of Fisheries Resources in the Brazil-Guianas Shelf, held in Paramaribo, Suriname, from 5 to 7 March 2002. The main objectives of the Conference were to share information and the best scientific evidence available on the status of the main commercial species of shrimp and groundfish in the region, discuss and evaluate management recommendations and their applicability and discuss a way forward for improving cooperation in fisheries research and management in the subregion. This was the first time fisheries scientists, managers and the fishing industry met to collectively evaluate scientific information generated by the countries and the management measures proposed, and to decide on follow-up actions.

The Conference agreed that meetings of this nature were essential for achieving sustainable use of the fisheries resources of the Brazil-Guianas Shelf and should be held regularly. Regular meetings should contribute to the formation of a regional fisheries management body for the Brazil-Guianas Large Marine Ecosystem in the longer term. Brazil offered to host the next meeting in 2003. With respect to the state of exploitation of the fisheries resources, the Conference confirmed the trends identified by the WECAFC Ad Hoc Working Group. The Conference further expressed strong appreciation for the Group’s work and recommended that it be continued. The fishing industry agreed in principle to support the Ad Hoc Group. Even though opposing views were expressed and defended with respect to some of the proposed management measures, it was agreed that management actions had to be taken now to arrest the declining trends in production. The Conference agreed that a closed season for shrimp was a management measure to be applied and that individually each country should examine it.