CFMC Takes Action Caribbean Fishery Management Council CONSERVING, RESTORING AND MANAGING OF FISHERY RESOURCES IN THE US CARIBBEAN
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2025 Vol. 1 No. 4
Newsletter to inform and share the progress of diverse projects that advance the sustainability of the U.S. Caribbean fisheries.
To cope with increasingly dynamic environmental conditions that are affecting tropical marine fisheries resources, the CFMC must integrate innovative strategies into its planning and fisheries management approaches. But how can this be done efficiently? One approach is the vulnerability analysis being applied to a selected group of species through a project developed by Isla Mar Research Expeditions LLC, under the leadership of Dr. Chelsea Harms-Tuohy. Summarizing the Current Life History Status of Priority Council-managed Caribbean Species and Evaluating their Vulnerability to Changing Environmental Conditions is the title of this project.
It is one of six proposals approved and funded by NOAA Fisheries for the CFMC under the 2024–2027 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Program. In effect, the vulnerability assessment will bring to completion an analytical effort first initiated more than two decades ago!!! Of the more than 170 species regulated by the CFMC, 24 were selected as priority following an extensive consultative process (see table with the names of the species).This process began with early dialogues involving the CFMC staff, and members of its Science and Statistical Committee (SSC), District Advisory Panels (DAPs), and Education and Outreach Advisory Panel (OEAP). It continued through a series of discussions within NOAA Fisheries including teams from the Southeast Regional Office, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Vulnerability Program, and the Climate Science Strategy. Preliminary input from fishers was also gathered through collaboration with other IRA–CFMC projects.
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
www.caribbeanfmc.com
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