Last Tuesday, the first Fisheries Conference was held at Anse Marcel Beach, organized by state services and bringing together major players in fishing and the blue economy as well as representatives and dignitaries from the islands of Saint-Martin, Sint Maarten, Anguilla, Saint-Barth, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saba and Saint-Eustache.
This large-scale meeting was close to the heart of prefect Vincent Berton for whom fishing is a “cultural and economic heritage on which the soul of the Caribbean floats”. Driven by the fishermen of Saint-Barth, the idea of bringing together public authorities, fishermen and environmental associations came to fruition last Tuesday with the first Fisheries Conference in Saint-Martin. Prefect Vincent Berton welcomed Louis Mussington, president of COM SXM, Silveria Jacobs, Prime Minister of Sint Maarten, Xavier Lédée, president of COM SBH, Julia Crouch, Governor of Anguilla and Camille Pelage, vice-president of the Region Guadeloupe. In addition to officials, numerous representatives from surrounding islands and local associations participated in this major meeting in order to structure and sustain the sector while supporting fishermen from the Northern Islands, who were also present. The showroom made up of stands from the Saint-Martin Nature Reserve, the Nature Foundation St. Maarten and the One Shark mission aroused everyone's keen interest, emphasizing awareness of respect for the environment and the behavioral approach of sharks to biodiversity challenges.
The morning program was rich with a round table entitled "Fishing, a common cultural and economic heritage" with interventions from officials to leave room for discussions around the preservation of resources and the marine environment, the impact of coastal erosion, sustainable exploitation, shared stocks and even the interconnection of islands. Indeed, inter-island cooperation is essential for officials; it is not normal for Vincent Berton to have fish imported into Saint-Martin when the supply of fishing in certain neighboring islands is greater than the demand. The afternoon of the Assises de la Pêche, which will be repeated next year on a neighboring island, was devoted to strengthening this cooperation via the construction of a regional strategy in terms of maritime and product health safety, without forgetting strengthening relationships between fishing professionals, who are primarily concerned by the subject. At the end of the day of discussions, the prefect Vincent Berton was delighted with the realization of several months of work: “These first Fisheries Conference represent a founding moment. Everyone had this expectation. (…) There are disagreements, we are not all in the same situation, but we work in a spirit of cooperation with the desire to move forward.” The work is underway. _VX
https://faxinfo.fr/en/assises-de-la-peche-vincent-berton-nous-travaillons-dans-un-esprit-de-cooperation-avec-la-volonte-davancer/
