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A stakeholder consultation was recently carried out in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that will bring the country closer to enacting a new Fisheries law, substantial work on which was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the country’s authorities.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is revising its Fisheries legislation to be in a position to effectively manage its fisheries resources, and to effectively implement the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and other relevant international instruments to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The new Bill will be presented to the country’s Parliament for consideration and enactment, later this year.

FAO supported Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in a first round of stakeholder consultation during a mission held between 24 January and 2 February, during which FAO assisted with the finalization of the new draft. The drafting team, comprising of officials of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division and the country’s Ministry of Legal Affairs, worked intensely during the seven days to present the final draft, carrying out live editing and redrafting of the existing provisions where necessary to ensure consistency and legal clarity.

This will now be followed by the national validation of the draft Bill, which will then be presented to Parliament for enactment in the coming months.