Pelagic Fisheries Management Plan

In an effort to improve its fisheries, conserve marine and coastal biodiversity, and build resilience to climate change, Jamaica has established Special Fishery Conservation Areas (SFCAs) to protect near shore marine areas. SFCAs are no-fishing zones reserved for the reproduction of fish populations and maintenance of fish habitats. It is hoped that the SFCAs will gradually increase fish populations threatened by overfishing, restore degraded marine and coastal habitats, and provide coastal protection during extreme events.

The development of this Strategy and Action Plan for community-based fisheries management including monitoring, surveillance, compliance and enforcement (MCS&E) involved three main activities:

1. A literature review of relevant national laws, policies and plans to identify legislation towards community-based organisations and Jamaica’s obligations relating to climate change.
2. Capacity assessment to assess the institutional capacity of SFCA management teams to participate in an integrated fisheries management approach for the SFCAs that includes MCS&E.
3. Stakeholder consultations with relevant organizations including SFCA management teams, NFA, National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), law enforcement agencies and other
   key stakeholders including Jamaica’s Fishers Cooperative Union

The vision of this community-based MCS&E Strategy and Action Plan is: “Empowered fishing communities managing their local coastal and marine ecosystems in ways that enrich livelihoods, provide resilience to climate change, and sustain healthy marine and coastal environments for generations to come”. To achieve it, six Strategic Outcomes have been defined.