Business View Caribbean | December 2019

12 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN DECEMBER 2019 many fishers, and those working in the market and processing sector, are very important for our Caribbean economies, employment and providing food security.” Meanwhile, Dr. Norman Martinez, Professor in Maritime Law and FAO Consultant, expressed that most Caribbean states have entry-points within their existing legislation, for example under the Fisheries Legislation or Shipping Act, that could be used to establish a mandatory third-party liability insurance for the fisheries sector. He indicated that such insurance cover could be made mandatory relatively easy within fishing license and/or fishing vessel registration processes, which will likely be much cheaper for all involved. Dr. Iris Monnereau, Regional Project Coordinator of the Climate Change Adaptation in the Eastern Caribbean Fisheries Sector (CC4Fish) at FAO, said the Caribbean region needs to develop a culture of insurance in the fisheries sector in order to mitigate the risks. “An island like Malta, for example, does have mandatory third-party insurance for small-scale vessels. Therefore, the small size of the boats should not be seen as a deterrent for having insurance and I hope that we can support Eastern Caribbean islands to follow suit,” she said. Dr. Monnereau also indicated that draft regulations for mandatory third-party liability insurance for fishing vessels were prepared for each country to facilitate the uptake of third-party liability insurance by governments in the region and that the project also supports national level activities to support further implementation. There are approximately 116,000 small-scale fishers active in the CARICOM region