The Caribbean island of St Vincent and the Grenadines, home to the Eastern Caribbean Office of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), is hosting fisheries industry experts from around the region this week.

The regional professionals are meeting for the ACP Fish II/CRFM regional technical consultation titled Strengthening the Capacity of CRFM and its Member States for Information and Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Management of Fisheries in the Caribbean Region, January 28-29 at the Sunset Shore Beach Hotel in Kingstown.

Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are expected to attend.

The event, which is funded by the European Union through the ACP Fish II Programme, is geared at producing an improved communication strategy for the CRFM in line with international best practices. It is being facilitated by the CRFM Secretariat and PBLH International Consulting experts.

Organizers say that the consultation will involve the presentation of the revised Communication Strategy by PBLH experts, and its discussion and validation by key regional stakeholders for regional endorsement.

There will also be a Regional Workshop to Develop a Draft Second Strategic Plan for the CRFM, held at the same venue January 30, 2013.