As we celebrate World Oceans Day 2021 under the theme “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods”, we want to highlight the positive efforts of our Caribbean small-scale fisherfolk to adopt an ecosystem approach to fisheries and be good stewards of the oceans and fisheries resources they depend on for their livelihoods.
Check out these three livelihood profiles of fisherfolk from Belize, Grenada and Saint Lucia that were developed under the GEF-funded StewardFish project:
Paula Jacob Williams: A woman advocating for sustainable fisheries and alternative livelihoods that support women in the fisheries sector (Belize)
Tylon Joseph: A young fisher driven to be a good steward for the environment (Grenada)
Leslie Alexander: From fisher to coast guard: A fisher’s venture into the Coast Guard service (Saint Lucia)
The small-scale fisheries sector is an important source of livelihoods in the Caribbean and contributes significantly to food security, poverty alleviation, employment, foreign exchange earnings, development and stability of rural and coastal communities, culture, recreation and tourism.
In the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries alone, more than 124,842 people are directly employed in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, with another 499,368 people working indirectly in fishing related activities including: processing, retail, boat construction and net repair.
To learn more about StewardFish visit: https://canari.org/stewardfish-project