The “Strategies, technologies, and social solutions to manage bycatch in tropical Large Marine Ecosystem Fisheries (REBYC-III CLME+)” project in collaboration with the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago (TT) will host a national stakeholder meeting on 16 December 2024.

The meeting, which will include participants from a cross-section of local fisheries stakeholders including the Turtle Bycatch Working Group (TBWG) and Future Fishers, will discuss:

• preliminary results of the marine megafauna bycatch surveys for the northeast coast communities of TT to identify opportunities for further engagement with fishing communities;
• proposed activities to advance hook and line fishing methods and net illumination trials in the northeast of TT in 2025; and
• options for future activities, as well as the potential role of different stakeholders and timelines.

Dr. Bryan Wallace, Director Ecolibrium Inc., will present the findings of the megafauna bycatch survey.

Ecolibrium Inc. was contracted by the Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA) of The University of the West Indies (UWI), to inter alia, lead the technical design and implementation of on-ground pilot demonstrations of a gillnet illumination experimental trial, hook and line trainings and promotion and the dissemination of pilot results to project partners and other stakeholders as part of Component I of the REBYC – III CLME+ project .

The project consists of an in-person questionnaire developed by the TBWG, Fisheries Division, and the REBYC CLME+ project and implemented in the field by Future Fishers on a national level.

The questionnaire focuses on individual fishers, typically boat captains, and emphasises artisanal or small-scale fishing. The overall goals are to characterise fishing operations as well as fisher perceptions of causes and potential solutions to bycatch of marine megafauna. It is expected that the results will be used to co-develop activities and strategies that support sustainable fishing and reduce bycatch impacts on these species.

The objectives of the marine megafauna bycatch survey include:

• estimating the magnitude of marine megafauna bycatch in artisanal (eg, gillnets, hook and line) and non-artisanal (longline) fisheries in TT;
• assessing the fate of marine megafauna following interaction with fishing gear;
• identifying hotspots of marine megafauna interactions with fishing gear;

• identifying temporal trends in marine megafauna interactions with fishing gear;
• identifying the causes of marine megafauna bycatch in TT;
• identifying approaches that fishers are taking to proactively manage (e.g. avoidance, mitigation) marine megafauna bycatch;
• identifying action that fishers are taking to enhance the likelihood of survival and reduce post-release mortality of marine megafauna bycatch in fishing gear; and
• identifying action that fishers would like to see to address marine megafauna bycatch in TT.

Approximately 270 individual surveys have been conducted around TT, and 70 have been conducted in nine northeast coast communities from Guayaguayare to Matelot. Surveys started in October and were completed in early December 2024.

The REBYC-III CLME+ projectis 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 FFA, UWI.

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.