The Barbados Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy held a workshop and training course on gear technology from 23-27 September 2024 as part of the REBYC – III CLME+ project.

The workshop and training course, which was conducted by Dr. Antonello Sala, Lead Technical Coordinator, Component I, REBYC-III CLME+ Project, focused on pelagic longlines and was attended by fisheries scientists, managers, gear technologists, and
other professionals in the industry.

The Barbados longline fleets operate in sea areas through which leatherbacks pass on their way to and from important nesting beaches in the CLME+ region. Barbados is committed to developing and implementing mitigation measures and strategies to reduce the incidental bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles, and sharks.

The five-day event was designed to:

• assist participants gain a basic understanding of gear performance and engineering, with a focus on commercial longline fishing and seafood production;
• use computer models and tools and conduct experimental work; and
• design and develop the types of fishing gear that will enable fisheries to become sustainable

Computer exercises were used to demonstrate methods that make inference about the selective properties of fishing gears. The participants learnt how to formulate and implement computer models for size selection processes in fishing gears. Practical training exercises were conducted where experimental methodologies and relevant technology were tried.

The “Strategies, technologies, and social solutions to manage bycatch in tropical Large Marine Ecosystem Fisheries (REBYC-III CLME+)” is a USD5.3 million project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and executed by The University of the West Indies (UWI), Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA).

It is being implemented over a 48-month period in Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, and TT. The objective of the REBYC-III CLME+ project, is to manage bycatch and reduce discards in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+) thereby promoting sustainable and responsible fisheries that provide economic opportunities while ensuring the conservation of marine living resources, and in doing so support country implementation of the CLME+ Strategic Action Plan.