Assessment of fisheries management issues in the Lesser Antilles and the ecosystem approach to fisheries management

The LAPE project aims to apply Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) principles to ecosystem management planning for pelagic resources in the LAPE area by making use of the best scientific information available. Part one of this document reports on the outcome of nine national EAF workshops to identify and prioritize ecosystem issues covering ecological well-being, human well-being, and ability to achieve categories. The Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) reporting framework was used as the exploratory tool to identify the main issues and risk associated with the pelagic fishery. In total, 134 individuals participated in national workshops, including fisheries officers, fishers, and other government agencies. On average 123 issues were proposed and prioritized per workshop. Issues rated as moderate to extreme risk to the fishery were pooled to determine common issues and trends amongst countries. Twenty-four major priority issues were identified of which four were selected for policy exploration using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) and non EwE. The document concludes with operational objectives and management recommendations for issues selected for detailed policy exploration. Part two of this document reports on EAF management workshops conducted in LAPE participating countries.