The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has taken a major step toward strengthening regional collaboration by formalising partnerships with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the University of the West Indies (UWI). The agreements aim to boost governance, research, and development in the fisheries sector and the wider Blue Economy across the Caribbean.
During the Sixteenth Special Meeting of the CRFM Ministerial Council, held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on September 30, 2025, the CRFM signed its first bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the OECS. The signing took place during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, an annual CARICOM event.
Dr. Marc Williams, Executive Director of the CRFM Secretariat, and Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS, signed the MoU, which will span the period 2025 to 2028.
Dr. Williams described the MoU as a formalisation of a long-standing collaboration:
“The informal relationship has worked well for both the CRFM and the OECS, but there is a need to establish official relations… [It] will initiate a collaboration that will guide and formalise cooperation between the CRFM and the OECS for the execution of related and relevant activities in specific areas of fisheries-related matters.”
Eight OECS member states—Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—are also part of the CRFM.
Dr. Jules noted the MoU marks a new level of collaboration, covering critical areas such as:
“Governance and management of fisheries, support for integration in the Blue Economy sector… building resilience, harmonisation of safety at sea programmes, insurance products for fishers, joint research, and economic development for fisherfolk and communities, including empowerment of youth and women in the fisheries value chain.”
Earlier in the month, on September 9, 2025, the CRFM signed another MoU—this time with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda. Dr. Williams signed on behalf of CRFM, while Professor Carl Justin Robinson signed for UWI.
That five-year MoU aims to promote academic collaboration in key areas such as blue economy development, climate change adaptation, marine spatial planning, ecosystem resilience, and resource mobilisation.
Dr. Williams highlighted the role of the Centre of Excellence for Oceanography and the Blue Economy (COBE), a joint initiative involving UWI, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He said COBE would be instrumental in helping the CRFM advance blue economy efforts in partnership with both regional and global stakeholders.
These partnerships mark a strategic move to bolster the Caribbean’s sustainable development through regional cooperation in fisheries management and marine resource utilisation.
