Advance Sustainable Fisheries

Geographical location:

Latin America/Caribbean > Caribbean > Cuba

Summary

There is an urgent need to ensure that Cuba has the knowledge, skills and tools to sustainably manage its fishery. This project, focusing on the Villa Clara area, will help Cuba to integrate conservation of biological diversity with economic development, bringing benefits for the environment and local people.

Lessons learned will be applied to the sustainable development of other fishing areas on the island, and potentially throughout the Caribbean.

Background

Cuba’s marine and coastal ecosystems are relatively well conserved and support an incredible range of species. Over-fishing by commercial and individual fishers, use of destructive fishing gear, and loss of critical habitats is putting the island’s fisheries at risk.

Given the important economic value of the fisheries sector to Cuba’s economy, the nutritional value of high-protein fish to the average Cuban’s diet, and the importance of a sustainable fishery to the population of the northern Villa Clara province, it is vital that these issues are addressed.

Other problems to be overcome include the remoteness of fishing communities, lack of capital, the division between conservation and economic laws, and conflicting authorities and priorities. There is a need to translate the recognised link between habitat conservation and securing fisheries resources into practical programmes that ensure Cubans continue to have access to this important source of food and revenue.

The project area includes extensive beaches and mangrove forests on the coast, a shallow near shore platform including important seagrass beds, an extensive network of cays, patches of coral reefs, and a deep marine shelf. Important breeding, nesting, and feeding sites for fish and turtles, manatees, crocodiles all contribute to the extraordinary biological diversity of the area, which includes commercially and nutritionally valuable species.

The entire region has been designated a Special Region of Sustainable Development (World Conservation Union - IUCN Cat. IV, similar to UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve) because people rely on the resources provided by this ecologically sensitive natural environment.

Objectives

Advance sustainability of the fishing industry in northern Villa Clara through:
- Improved/integrated fishing policy and practice.
- Marine protected area (MPA) creation and management.
- Community engagement.
- Replication of experiences throughout the country.

Solution

The project will take place in the province of Villa Clara on the north-central coast of Cuba encompassing 128,000 hectares of coastal and offshore areas.

This project will increase the sustainability and value of an important fishery through habitat protection, local and participatory conservation efforts, and adoption of environmentally responsible fishing techniques.