The Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries opened a recreational fisheries workshop at BAIC headquarters, Wednesday comprising 30 experts from 12 Caribbean countries. It was the Sixth Meeting of joint Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Central America (OSPESCA), and Caribbean Fisheries Management Council of the USA (CFMC) Data Provision workshop. 

Various organizations, such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Nature Conservancy, and University of Miami joined the workshop, which over the duration of three days would give focus to national and regional recreational fisheries data and sustainable capacity building. 

Organizers, dedicated to the needs of recreational fishers, advocate for detailed-oriented data collection needed to build the sport; they discussed using an app to collect data and share globally from the region.

Recreational fisheries significantly contribute to job creation and employment, tourism, food security and coastal livelihoods in the Caribbean region.

The economic impact of recreational and sport fishing in The Bahamas is estimated at US$500 million plus annually to the nation's GDP through tourist expenditures, and it gainfully employs approximately 18,000 Bahamians.

By Gena Gibbs

Bahamas Information Services