Sale of 'pot fish' in a Grenada fish market Bridgetown, Barbados, March 4, 2009 -- Climate change has started to have serious negative effects on the fragile marine ecosystems that support the Caribbean’s fishing industries, yet many fisheries management plans do not provide for these effects nor are fisher folk receiving the necessary information to help them adapt.

These are two of the concerns raised in a report recently released by the Marine Resource Governance in the Eastern Caribbean Project of the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill in Barbados. The report stems from the Fishers Forum on “Climate change and small-scale fisheries in the Caribbean” that occurred at the 61st Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) Conference in Guadeloupe on November 10, 2008.                                                          

The report compiles perspectives on the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of fisher folk from presentations made at the Forum by CERMES senior lecturers Dr. Patrick McConney and Dr. Leonard Nurse; CERMES MSc student and Antiguan deputy chief fisheries officer, Philmore James; regional fisher folk leader Mitchell Lay; and veteran Barbadian fisher Anderson Kinch as well as other fisheries scientists, fishermen, and marine science experts gathered for the meeting. The report points out that, while much attention has been paid to the devastating impact that climate change can have on coral reefs in the region (including the widespread ‘bleaching’ death on reefs across the Caribbean in 2005 due to rising water
temperatures), little research has been carried out into the potential impact of the phenomenon on the fishing, fish processing, trade and fisheries technical support services related to small-scale fisheries.

Changes to migratory patterns of fish and bird species throughout the Caribbean region; the invasion of marine species previously unknown in regional waters; the increase in ciguatera poisoning of fish in the north-eastern Caribbean; and the impacts of sea level rise and warmer waters on fishing activity were all scenarios that participants raised during the forum. This, stated the report, pointed to a need to place on the regional climate change agenda more demand-driven research regarding the phenomenon’s effects on small-scale fisheries, especially given the uncertainty about the impacts on their livelihood from climate change and the possible responses fishers could take to mitigate its negative effects.

These effects, stated the report, could include the destruction of fishers’ homes and fishing grounds along coastal areas due to sea level rising, storm surges and the increased violence and frequency of hurricanes. It was noted that small-scale fishers are also particularly vulnerable to these natural disasters due to a general lack of insurance and institutional support to help them recover in the aftermath of these extreme events.

“While the sector has demonstrated considerable resilience to climate variability in the past, factors such as lack of consistent governmental access to capital on reasonable terms, weak fisher folk organizations and consequently low bargaining power will compromise adaptation capacity in the future,” stated the report. As a result, more research and public outreach is being planned by CERMES and partner organizations to address climate change impacts on fisheries.

A copy of the report can be obtained at the MarGov Project website http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/cermes/margov_documents.html or at the GCFI website http://www.gcfi.org.