Managing abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (Derelict Gear) in Eastern Caribbean small-scale fisheries: An assessment of legislative, regulatory and policy gaps

Abstract

The issue of abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a complex global challenge that affects not only industrial fleets but small-scale fisheries as well. Having been described as perhaps the most dangerous form of marine litter, it is important to not only understand the scale and nature of the problem globally but whether existing management regimes can respond to this complex issue.For the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, as in several other regions of the world, research has shown that there are significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of ALDFG and its management. This research has focused on discerning the legislative, regulatory and policy gaps associated with the management of ALDFG in small-scale fisheries of several Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). Through an examination of national fisheries, pollution, solid waste and environmental protection laws as well as policies related to marine litter and/or fisheries a number of weaknesses have been identified in the legal, regulatory and policy landscape for these islands as it relates to the management of ALDFG. These weaknesses have been borne out in outdated and missing fisheries laws, ineffective marine pollution instruments that lack provisions focused on marine-sources of waste, as well as the complexities related to the multi-gear nature of the sub-region’s fisheries. Improvements to the legal, regulatory and policy framework for the management of ALDFG in the Eastern Caribbean will aid in curbing the proliferation and adverse impacts of ALDFG in the region. However this must be accompanied by targeted research to understand not only the scale of the challenge but the drivers of loss. This will assist in the defining of purpose-fit solutions to a complex challenge.