Report of the Third Meeting of the WECAFC Ad Hoc Flyingfish Working Group of the Eastern Caribbean, Mount Irvine, Tobago, 21-21 July 2008.

includes bibliographical references and index.

art I of this report provides a summary of the proceedings of the Third Meeting of the WECAFC Ad Hoc Flyingfish Working Group of the Eastern Caribbean. Part II gives a management summary and full report of the flyingfish stock assessment undertaken at the meeting, as prepared by the FAO fisheries consultant with contributions, review and approval by the Ad Hoc Flyingfish Working Group. Part III presents national reports detailing the analyses and preparation of national data sets for use in the regional flyingfish stock assessment. Part IV provides the Draft Subregional Fisheries Management Plan for Flyingfish in the Eastern Caribbean amended as agreed at the meeting. The key results of the stock assessment conducted at the meeting are that the regional flyingfish stock is not currently overfished and that overfishing has not occurred in the history of the flyingfish fishery. It was agreed by the working group that there is no immediate action required by management to conserve the stock, unless there is a significant increase in regional flyingfish catches. It was further agreed that a catch trigger point of 5 000 tonnes should be established when action would be taken to ensure the stock does not become overfished. Among the agreed actions that should be taken if catches rise to or above the trigger point, is a freeze on further fishery development until a full scientific reassessment of the stock has been completed. The most significant uncertainty in the current assessment stems from the poor data available on catches and effort. It was agreed that improved data collection and monitoring is essential to ensure sustainable use of this and other fishery resources into the future, and that achieving this improvement should be a priority focus for all members with a flyingfish fishery. It was further agreed that the working group should maintain the electronic database that was assembled at the meeting, ensuring that it always represents the most up-to-date best estimate of flyingfish catch and effort in the subregion to support future reassessments. The Draft Subregional Fisheries Management Plan for Flyingfish in the Eastern Caribbean, prepared intersessionally after the second meeting, was fully reviewed at this meeting and amendments suggested in order to finalize the first draft of the fisheries management plan for presentation to the eastern Caribbean governments. The amended draft is provided here.

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