Area 31 (Atlantic, Western Central)

Netuno USA and Rainforest Seafoods have partnered with CeDePesca to develop a FIP for the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Jamaica.  To this end, CeDePesca is preparing a gap analysis against the MSC standard that will inform the design of an Action Plan.

There are three types of lobsters found in Jamaica’s coastal waters and on the offshore banks of Pedro Bank, Morant Bank and Formigas Bank:  Spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus), spotted spiny lobster (Panulirus guttatus) and slipper lobster (family Scyllaridae). Of the three types, spiny lobster -also known as Caribbean spiny lobster- is the most harvested.

The Jamaica spiny lobster fishery is conducted using traps as the main fishing gear, but other fishing gears are also used -such as nets-, as well as other fishing methods -such as hookah diving-. Individual fishers supply individual consumers and small intermediaries.  The Jamaica spiny lobster fishery is conducted close to the coast onboard small vessels carrying 3-4 fishers that fish in day trips, and onboard larger vessels carrying 10-15 fishers that conduct fishing trips of about 3 to 5 days in offshore areas. Fishing vessels are made of wood regardless of their size.

The spiny lobster fishery is the second most lucrative export fishery in Jamaica, after the queen conch fishery. In 2019, the total production of lobster in Jamaica was estimated to be approximately 230 tons. 

The fishery being assessed is Star Trading Atlantic Ocean longline tuna fishery. The fishery targets albacore (Thunnus alalunga) tuna, bigeye (T. obesus) and yellowfin (T. albacares) tunas. The 28 pelagic longline vessels are flagged to Suriname and fish exclusively on the high seas in the Atlantic. The fishery is managed regionally by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in the Atlantic Ocean.

FIP partners Sea Delight, Deep Sea Atlantic, Caribbean Sea Foods, Marisa Fisheries, Omicron Seafood, and CeDePesca have committed to the sustainability of the Suriname corvina and acoupa weakfish driftnet and trawling fisheries, and look forward to bringing about the necessary improvements in collaboration with other fishery stakeholders. 

Corvina (kandratiki, Cynoscion virescens) and acoupa weakfish (bang bang, Cynoscion acoupa) are between the most important commercial species of fish in Suriname and are fished by different fleets, including the artisanal driftnet fleet and the industrial trawling fleet.

In Suriname, the corvina and acoupa weakfish driftnet and trawling fisheries occur entirely within the waters of Suriname's Exclusive Economic Zone.  The driftnet fishery is conducted by open and closed Guyana boats using gillnets that are not anchored to the bottom but float with the tide.  On the other hand, the trawling fishery is conducted by Florida type trawling boats using otter trawl nets.

There has been no formal identification of stocks for Cynoscion virescens and Cynoscion acoupa along their geographical distribution; however, it is expected that the stock's biomass moves across fishing grounds in the Brazil-Guianas shelf.  This would mean that the stocks are most probably shared between Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela (most probably along the Venezuelan Guayana region) and Brazil (most probably along the Brazilian Goiania region).  In 2019, a stock assessment (Willems, in press) was conducted for these species using data collected in Guyana and Suriname and a method appropriate for data-deficient situations.  The results indicate that both species are overexploited.  However, by improving management measures and fishery practices to keep fishing effort at appropriate levels in Suriname and by strengthening collaboration between countries in the region, the stocks could be rebuilt to their optimal level.

This FIP aims to solve those sustainability obstacles that were identified through an MSC Pre-Assessment conducted in July 2020, and FIP partners are keen to join efforts with other stakeholders in the supply chain to attain a certifiable status for the fisheries.

The fishery being assessed is StarKist Atlantic Ocean longline tuna fishery. The fishery targets albacore (Thunnus alalunga) tuna, bigeye (T. obesus) and yellowfin (T. albacares) tunas. The pelagic longline vessels are flagged to Taiwan, St Vincent, Senegal, Panama and Belize and fish on the high seas (and occasionally in the national EEZs) in the Atlantic. The fishery is managed regionally by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in the Atlantic Ocean.