The Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and
Fisheries held a workshop and training course on gear technology from 30 September – 4
October 2024 as part of the REBYC – III CLME+ project.

The workshop and training course, which was conducted by Dr. Antonello Sala, Lead Technical
Coordinator, Component I, REBYC-III CLME+ Project, focused on pelagic longlines,
gillnets/driftnets and saw participation from fisheries scientists, managers, gear technologists,
and other professionals in the industry.

The long line fleets operate in sea areas through which leatherbacks pass on their way to and
from important nesting beaches in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine
Ecosystems (CLME+) region.

Trinidad and Tobago is committed to developing and implementing mitigation measures and
strategies to reduce the incidental bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles, and sharks.
Gillnet/driftnet fisheries are generally associated with small-scale activities. The demersal gillnet
fisheries mainly suffer from bycatch of endangered, threatened and protected species (ETP)
species. While this bycatch has been documented to some extent (mainly on marine turtles), little
to no efforts have been made to address bycatch issues.

The REBYC-III CLME+ project focuses on the development and implementation of mitigation
measures (eg. novel stimuli, acoustic deterrents) and strategies (eg.
limiting fishing period to night hours, switching gears to those with less bycatch potential) to
reduce incidental bycatch with a particular focus on sharks and turtles.

The five-day event was designed to:

• assist participants gain a basic understanding of gear performance and engineering, with a
  focus on commercial longline fishing and seafood production;
• use computer models and tools and conduct experimental work; and
• design and develop the types of fishing gear that will enable fisheries to become
  sustainable.

The workshop covered topics such as gear design, fishing gear performance, selectivity, fish
behaviour, discard reduction, seabed impacts, energy use in fisheries, environmental impacts, and
seafood sustainability initiatives.

Computer exercises were used to demonstrate methods that make inference about the selective
properties of fishing gears. The participants learned to formulate and implement computer
models for size selection processes in fishing gears. Practical training exercises were conducted
where experimental methodologies and relevant technology were tried.

The “Strategies, technologies, and social solutions to manage bycatch in tropical Large Marine
Ecosystem Fisheries (REBYC-III CLME+)” is a USD5.3 million project funded by the Global
Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and executed by The University of the West Indies (UWI), Faculty
of Food and Agriculture (FFA).

It is being implemented over a 48-month period in Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, and TT. The
objective of the REBYC-III CLME+ project, is to manage bycatch and reduce discards in the
Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+) thereby promoting
sustainable and responsible fisheries that provide economic opportunities while ensuring the
conservation of marine living resources, and in doing so support country implementation of the
CLME+ Strategic Action Plan.