Local and regional officials on mission to fight fisheries crime

Barbados is taking steps to stamp out crime in the fisheries sector, Minister of the Environment and National Beautification Adrian Forde announced on Thursday as an initiative to fight the battle at the regional level was unveiled.
The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries officially launched the Blue Justice Initiative (BJI) at the Blue Justice Conference 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jamaica and CARICOM will be the world’s first country and zone, respectively, to be designated a regional hub and will take the lead role in the coordination of the BJI.
Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr said the hub will serve as a key site in the region to stamp out transnational organised crime in the fishing industry.
“It will be a nexus for active and secure information exchange to be utilised, [and for] communication and cooperation between the countries in the region. It will facilitate technical and capacity support in conjunction with the UNDP [United Nations Development Programme] Blue Resilience and the Blue Justice community, foster interagency cooperation between countries, [and] it will also provide for confidential and intelligence-driven activities,” he explained.
Forde, who addressed the conference virtually, reported that Barbados was doing its part to help curb crime affecting the fishing industry.
“We have been working closely in Barbados with the Regional Security System to detect, stop, and fight fisheries crime. Throughout the whole supply chain, we are struggling to ensure the legality and traceability of our fish and execute operations to dismantle the criminal networks that are behind these crimes,” said the minister who also officially signed on to the International Declaration on Transnational Organised Crime in the Global fishing industry (Copenhagen Declaration).
Forde added that the ability to track and trace vessels in the fishing sector would be a critical area of focus.
(SB)