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| Caribbean Fishery Management Plan | |
|---|---|
| Name | Caribbean Fishery Management Plan |
| Jurisdiction | United States Caribbean |
| Established | 1984 |
Caribbean Fishery Management Plan The Caribbean Fishery Management Plan (CFMP) is a regulatory framework developed under United States federal law to manage fisheries in United States Caribbean waters. It integrates statutory authority from the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, administrative implementation by the National Marine Fisheries Service and NOAA Fisheries, and regional coordination involving the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council. The plan aims to balance conservation of marine resources with sustainable use by communities in the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and adjacent waters near the British Virgin Islands and Leeward Islands.
The CFMP arose from amendments to the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and subsequent rulemaking led by NOAA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Objectives emphasize rebuilding overfished stocks identified under the Sustainable Fisheries Act and meeting mandates from the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The CFMP seeks to address issues documented in regional assessments by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and studies published through institutions such as the University of the Virgin Islands and the University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program.
The CFMP covers United States territorial waters around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, including associated exclusive economic zone interfaces near the Leeward Islands and the Greater Antilles. Jurisdictional coordination occurs among federal entities like the Department of Commerce (United States), territorial agencies such as the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and regional organizations including the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. International interactions involve treaties and agreements with neighboring states represented at forums like the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission.
The CFMP targets commercially and culturally important species including reef-associated fishes such as red hind, mutton snapper, queen conch, and spiny lobster, as well as pelagic species managed in concert with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission like yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna. Ecosystems under management include coral reef systems documented by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, seagrass beds studied by the Smithsonian Institution and mangrove corridors connected to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands sites in the region. The plan incorporates listings and assessments from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and considers habitat protections arising from the National Marine Sanctuaries Act where applicable.
Regulatory elements in the CFMP include catch limits derived from stock assessments produced by the Scientific and Statistical Committee and federal rulemaking by NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. Measures comprise size and bag limits modeled after practices in the New England Fishery Management Council and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, seasonal closures paralleling protections used in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, gear restrictions such as bans on certain trawl and gillnet configurations informed by National Research Council (US) reports, and marine protected areas coordinated with the National Marine Sanctuaries network. Enforcement provisions reference authorities under the Magnuson–Stevens Act and criminal statutes administered by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Justice (United States).
Science components rely on collaborative programs including fisheries-independent surveys conducted by the NOAA Research Fleet, fishery-dependent data submitted to the Protected Resources Division, and stock assessments coordinated with the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Caribbean Fishery Data Working Group. Monitoring integrates electronic reporting technologies recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (United States) and incorporates traditional ecological knowledge collected through partnerships with academic centers like the University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park and NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy. Data inform rebuilding plans consistent with guidance from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and regional models developed by the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute.
Stakeholder processes include public consultations patterned after procedures used by the Federal Register notice-and-comment system, advisory panels similar to those convened by the New England Fishery Management Council, and cooperative enforcement agreements with territorial police, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and community organizations such as the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea. Compliance is reinforced through monitoring, control and surveillance programs incorporating assets from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and capacity-building funded through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Dispute resolution draws on mechanisms used in regional fisheries bodies like the Caribbean Community technical consultations.
Economic analyses for the CFMP reference contributions to local livelihoods in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands documented by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, tourism linkages studied by the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and market dynamics influenced by import-export flows overseen by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Social impacts address food security and cultural practices of fishing communities, engaging heritage institutions such as the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and community development programs funded by the Economic Development Administration (United States). Evaluations consider resilience to environmental shocks like hurricanes cataloged by the National Hurricane Center and long-term change assessed through climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Category:Fisheries management