cAMPAM Small Grants Funds - 2008 Projects

Project 1 - CERMES, Barbados Regional Fisherfolk Workshops

The University of the West Indies Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) has embarked on a project for ‘Enhancing marine resource governance through developing capacity for communication in the Eastern Caribbean’. Under this project, four one-day capacity-building communication workshops will be held for fisherfolk organisations and fisheries management authorities in Antigua, Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia. These workshops augment CERMES’ four-year applied research project on marine resource governance in the Eastern Caribbean (the MarGov project). Communication and collaboration are key features of MarGov as efficiency and effectiveness in disseminating project research to partners, target institutions and other stakeholders is integral to translating findings into beneficial change for marine resource governance, policy and management. The project also aims to enhance the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) initiative for strengthening CARICOM fisherfolk organisations and their networks.

Project 2 - Reef Check - Dominican Republic Exchange with Mexico

Four members of the fishers’ association of Juanillo-Punta Cana (APEJU), in partnership with REEF CHECK Dominican Republic (RCDR) and a local Peace Corps volunteer will spend a week visiting fishing communities throughout the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The fishers exchange will serve to validate and increase the leadership capacity of the APEJU fishermen, expose them to well-managed marine protected areas, and introduce them to alternative gear choices and sustainable fishing strategies. APEJU exists in the popular international tourist destination Punta Cana on the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic and was formed to protect the rights of fishers and ensure sustainable fishing. RCDR has partnered with area fishermen to help them preserve and protect their own reef. REEF CHECK’s Coral Reef Monitoring Program offers a basic method of assessing reef health that the fishermen can carry out. Other strategies RCDR employs include encouraging alternative income sources and working with area stakeholders to develop a sustainable management plan. Toward that end, RCDR and the Peace Corps volunteer have been working with APEJU leaders to begin a reef monitoring program, address organizational challenges, and establish permanent protection of an area where APEJU currently limits fishing. The week-long exchange in Mexico, which includes visits to three different fishers’ associations and three marine protected areas will allow fishers to exchange ideas with other fishers who have been successful in changing their fishing methods, organization and work successfully in tourist areas.