The Caribbean Fishery Management Council is planning a series workshops to seek solutions for deteriorating water quality in the U.S. Caribbean.
The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The CFMC is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It does not include one of the 50 U.S. states and shares management of fish stocks with Caribbean nations. It is responsible for the creation of management plans for fishery resources in the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Its upcoming series of workshops will include approximately 300 stakeholders including fishers, coastal businesses, conservation organizations, and scientists, with the goal of developing a fishery ecosystem plan to properly manage the protection of the region's fisheries, focusing on ecological, economic, and societal factors. The plan will seek to address the stabilization of fish populations in the face of climate issues, erosion, poor water-quality control. It will also involve the creation of a public education campaign to spread understanding of why the rules it plans to create are essential.
The workshops are scheduled to conclude in summer 2022.
