FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Coordination Committee of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission

Yvette Diei-Ouadi, FAO Technical Secretary

Activities within the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) region are being led by a diversity of partner organizations, including academia, civil society, and fisherfolk and aquafarmer associations. Notably, the WECAFC Coordination Committee includes representation from the South American and Mesoamerican committees. Indeed, activities planned by the WECAFC Coordination Committee represent not only the inherent diversity of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the region but also the spatial diversity of WECAFC members. Similarly, activities range from local to the regional level, in an effort to capture the multi-scalar dimension of IYAFA 2022.

Activities within the region are being celebrated under the theme of recovery and resilience, with gender and youth as cross-cutting themes. The celebration also has three subthemes: social resilience, innovation and intersectoral linkages.

Activities of the WECAFC Coordination Committee

Month

Activity

Ongoing

Celebrating regional IYAFA champions (individuals and institutions) who exemplify the ideals of the Small-scale Fisheries (SSF) Guidelines and the pillars of IYAFA 2022.

August

Co-sponsoring the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations leadership institute to support the continued development of fisher-led strategies to implement the SSF Guidelines in the region.

October

High-level dialogue of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) fisheries ministers on mainstreaming the contribution of SSF/A in the regional blue economy dialogue during the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism's 11th Ministerial Council.

November

Hybrid Regional Women in Fisheries Forum at the 75th Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute.