Promoting long-term sustainable use and conservation of marine resources in the eastern Caribbean - A regional collaborative project

The potential for Marine Protected Areas to support fisheries management has been recognised internationally. Within the Caribbean, Marine Protected Areas are: increasingly being seen as tools for managing resource use with regard to coral reef fisheries and thus, a number of fairly new Marine Protected Area initiatives are taking place, which are seen as part of the action strategy for the management of the use of;a number of fisheries resources. A role for Marine Protected Areas in Biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean region has also been identified. Against the backdrop' of limited budgets and staff resources, eastern Caribbean marine resource management agencies and academic research institutions have expressed a strong need for an effort to help them coordinate available information that may be utilized in evaluation of candidate sites for coral reef fisheries reserves and other marine protected areas in the region. These-agencies have also requested assistance in improving. regional capacity for monitoring and assessing marine habitats, and data management and synthesis to fill priority gaps in the information. Additionally, a need :has been expressed for assistance in developing a coordinated gem-spatial references inventory and data management program of available marine fisheries related information. In support of this, a strategic, collaborative, intervention is being initiated in the eastern Caribbean, with the Natural Resources Management Unit of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration' National Marine Fisheries Service, University of the West Indies' School of Graduate Studies and Research, Caribbean Conservation Association, US Agency for International Development, and the US Department of State all having a part to play. This contribution outlines both the context and the content: of this initiative.