Abstract

This chapter explores the effectiveness of regional institutional arrangements for ecosystem-based management (EBM) of fisheries resources in the Caribbean, recognising that success will depend on understanding the connectivity between interactions with other sectors in the marine environment at multiple scales. The emphasis on fisheries resources is based on the priority assigned to the sustainable management of these shared resources by participating member countries in the pan-Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem (CLME) project and the tractability of dealing with a single sector first, in the light of the complexity of the region. Given the existing suite of institutional arrangements in the region, the chapter highlights areas for improvement, with the authors recommending two potential options for institutional reform to facilitate EBM implementation for fisheries resources based on a Caribbean-derived large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework. It concludes with an identification of the major challenges confronting the region as it attempts to implement options to facilitate an EBM approach to managing fisheries resources in the Caribbean.

Introduction

Ecosystem-based management recognises that an ecosystem is comprised of both a natural component and a human component. The natural subsystem is that part of the ecosystem that consists of the physical environment, the natural processes occurring within that environment and the biological resources that inhabit it. The human subsystem consists of those who use the natural component of the ecosystem for a variety of purposes (e.g., economic, social, cultural, research-related, conservation and/or spiritual) as well as those who are responsible for governing how these differing demands on the resources are to be met.

EBM seeks to integrate and balance the differing ecological, social and economic goals set by the human component of the ecosystem, recognising that success in one cannot be sustained without success in the others. It also takes into account the differing scales at which natural processes occur, often extending across political boundaries and connected to land, air and sea. Equally importantly for implementing EBM is to have in place institutional arrangements that engages multiple stakeholders in a collaborative process to define problems and seek equitable solutions, using adaptive management approaches that can respond to the uncertainties and risks inherent in these complex ecosystems (Christie et al. 2007).