OFFICIAL OUTCOMES OF THE 69th GULF OF …flseagrant.ifas.ufl.edu/GCFI/69_proceedings/data/polopoly_fs/1... · serves on the board of our very own Gulf and ... One hundred and twenty

OFFICIAL OUTCOMES OF THE 69th

GULF OF CARIBBEAN FISHERIES INSTITUTE

ANNUAL MEETING

7 NOVEMBER – 11 NOVEMBER 2016 GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS

HOSTED BY

CAYMANS ISLANDS GOVERNMENT

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

69th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute

INTRODUCTION From November 6 - 11, 2016, more than 300 fisheries biologists, students, scientists, marine protected area (MPA) researchers, managers, fishers, and representatives from various government departments and conservation groups from Caribbean countries met in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands to explore how they might build networks of people, institutions, and protected areas to further the conservation of marine resources, habitats, and fisheries throughout the region. The 69th Gulf Caribbean Fisheries Institute was held at the Westin Hotel, and hosted by the Cayman Island Government Department of Environment. The theme of the Conference was "Fishing for Fun, Food, and the Future: Fitting Recreational Fisheries into MPA Management". This initiative was based on the interests of the GCFI membership to integrate fishers’ experiences and knowledge in efforts to improve MPA management. This thematic session supports the idea that achieving and maintaining healthy coastal and marine ecosystems requires a fundamental understanding of the relationships between people and their marine environment. In particular, this session will emphasize the linkages between recreational fishing and the enjoyment of their marine resources, the economic benefits derived from these activi-ties, and the long-term sustainability of traditional practices within fishing communities. The annual meeting opened with a welcome from Ms. Nancy Brown-Peterson, chairman of the GCFI, followed by the words of Hon. Wayne Panton, Minister of Financial Services, Commerce and Environ-ment and Dr. Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Director Cayman Island Government Department of Environment.

Dr. Brice Semmens inaugurated the 69th GCFI with his keynote presentation entitled:

Fish Spawning Aggregation Monitoring and Management in the Modern Era: Insights from the Cayman Islands

Dr. Semmens is currently an assistant professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Univer-sity of California, San Diego; co-PI of the Center for the Advancement of Population Assessment Methodology (CAPAM), an internationally recognized stock assessment research center. He also serves on the science advisory boards for REEF, the Israeli National Initiative for Biodiversity Monitoring, and the California Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP), and serves on the board of our very own Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute. The conference program features multi-disciplinary sessions arranged in part by ecosystem type. The subject areas are no different from previous GCFI conferences; each session had a mix of natural and social science, management, and technology related to the ecosystem or fisheries.

Dr. Brice Semmens Hon. Wayne Panton Leroy Creswell Opening the Conference


One hundred and twenty three oral and 68 poster presentations were delivered during the five days of the meeting covering a wide range of topics which included:

Governance, livelihoods, and organizations

Reefs and associated ecosystems fisheries Shallow and deep reef fishes Snapper and grouper fisheries Fish spawning aggregations Lionfish and other invasive species Queen conch, spiny lobster, and other invertebrates

Marine Protected Areas Science and Management

Pelagic ecosystem and recreational fisheries

Continental shelf ecosystem fisheries Shrimp and demersal trawl fisheries

Habitats, climate change, and coastal management Essential fish habitats Integrated coastal management Climate change adaptation

Aquaculture

Two concurrent workshops were hosted:

Oil Spill Science & Information Needs for Gulf & Caribbean Regional Stakeholders

This workshop brought together GCFI attendees and interested local and regional stakeholders to discuss information needs on the topic of regional connectivity and oil spills. Emerging science and information about oil spills is pertinent to multiple Gulf and Caribbean countries, as energy infrastructure develops throughout the region. Sea Grant aims was to collect information

needs, questions, topics of interest, and issues related to oil spills, from participants at this workshop. Information collected will be the basis for development of future outreach products for distribution to participants at the workshop, and to audiences across the region. Participants had the opportunity to have their voice heard, to ask questions, and to provide input on informational products and programs that would be most useful to them. With this input, Sea Grant address identified needs and continue to support multi-national collaboration across the region. Facilitator/Contact: Christine Hale, Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program (http://gulfseagrant.org/oilspilloutreach). (361)825-6215; [email protected].


Vemco Acoustic Telemetry Workshop

New and experienced Vemco Acoustic Telemetry users discussed the latest in Acoustic Telemetry tools and techniques. The Vemco Telemetry workshop covered a wide variety of topics such as:

Vemco Telemetry Study Design: Ensuring you get the best possible results Gates vs Residence vs fine scale positioning Choosing transmitter and receiver programming Range testing – do’s and don’ts Range testing – how to analyze your data quickly using Vemco’s new range test analysis

software Receiver spacing – what makes an effective gate? Using noise and tilt diagnostics to optimize your study design Using pings and detections to assess system performance

What’s new in the world of telemetry tools? The latest developments from Vemco aimed at enabling new science and improving study results were addressed.

VR2Tx – Vemco’s new Transponding receiver. Monitor your system while deployed. VR2AR – combined Vemco receiver and acoustic release. Come learn how we can make

deployment and recovery easier, faster and how you can monitor your system while still deployed

New HR Receivers and very small tags – fine scale positioning of many tags simultaneous-ly with sub meter accuracy

Setting our next direction We’re looking to the next generation of VUE and data analysis tools, help us set the priori-

ties New receivers, new tags – where next?

For additional information please contact Nancy Edwards ― [email protected] and Richard Vallee ― [email protected].

The 69th GCFI Sargassum session organizers. (Photo: J. Corsaut)


Moderated by Frédérique Fardin and Jim Franks, the session included ten oral presentations about the state of knowledge on species of sargassum, possible causes of the influx, progress on early advisory systems, monitoring of impacts on coastal habitats and living resources, and experience to date from across the region in the management of impacts on fisheries and livelihoods. Countries and territories featured in the session included Grenada, Martinique, Guadeloupe and the USA. A regional update on cooperation about sargassum was presented by SPAW-RAC and a summary was presented by GCFI about gaps in knowledge, directions in research and management, and needs for partnership building and support.

The participants concluded that communication and sharing information and lessons learnt regarding the many experiences with sargassum across the Caribbean is critical to the region’s on-going efforts to sustainably manage the massive sargassum stranding events and support the continued development and up-dating of best practice guidelines. For more information please contact Jim Franks, GCFI, and University of Southern Mississippi ― [email protected].

Understanding and Management of the Pelagic Sargassum Influx in the Caribbean

(Moderators : Frédérique Fardin, and Jim Franks)

Sponsored by: SPAW-RAC (UNEP-CEP) and GCFI

Understanding and Strengthening Natural and Social Connections (Moderator : Steve Gittings )

Sponsored by: NOAA, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Cayman Island Department of Environment and GCFI

This session highlighted the best practices for conducting collaborative research and management related to marine issues shared by multiple countries of the wider Caribbean region. With an em-phasis on promoting collaborations, the contributions for the session can consist of a range of sci-entific topics, such as monitoring spawning aggregations and protecting essential habitats, connec-tivity of populations across the region, and other ecosystem research important for the conservation and management of marine resources. For example, work over the last 14 years in the Cayman Islands suggests that their well-protected Nassau Grouper populations may not only replenish local populations, but may supply other is-lands where populations have been depleted by overfishing. Additionally, a year-long study of their spawning aggregation sites documented > 27 species using them for reproductive purposes, galvanizing the fact that their local populations possibly seeds other countries in the region on a monthly basis. Cuba may be in the direct path of this production; the U.S. could benefit indirectly. Concurrently, research on the West Florida Shelf has demonstrated both strong population connec-tivity between Pulley Ridge and the downstream Florida Keys, but also unexpectedly strong links between the reefs of the Dry Tortugas and those on the Flower Garden Banks in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The session provided a forum to share knowledge, raise awareness of the importance of consider-ing connectivity in management decisions, and encourage protection for historic and remaining spawning aggregation sites in the region. Connections were also made between attendees that we hope will lead to cooperative research, education, and management on matters related to restora-tion, critical habitat protection, and establishing marine protected areas.


Two areas ripe for significant growth are: i) Engagement on natural and social connections between the United States and Cuba, and ii) The need to better understand how that large and important island factors into regional connec-

tivity and ecosystem health. A summary of the session is presented in this proceedings. For more information please contact Steve Gittings, NOAA, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries ― [email protected].

The 69th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) hosted the first dedicated session on marine

debris issues in the Caribbean. Ten oral presentations and one poster were made from international

organizations, industry, academia, Federal and State agencies, NGOs, and students. Three of the

presentations were projects previously funded by NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, and three were

funded through the United Nations Environmental Program, Global Partnership on Marine Litter

(GPML). GCFI began conducting research on marine litter issues in 2008, and the partnerships with

NOAA and GPML provide a forum for researchers to exchange information and best practices on

marine litter management filled the need for a regional approach to the issue.

A number of themes emerged from the session. Perhaps the greatest overarching theme was the idea that “Marine litter is not a marine issue” (Chris Corbin, UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme) and that prevention and overcoming land-based waste management issues is paramount to tackling the issue particularly waste stream reduction and recycling (or lack thereof in some countries). Mi-crofibers were the primary plastic type found to be ingested by fish sampled from the US Gulf of Mexico and Grenada. Similarly, microfibers were the most common type of plastic (82% of the total

Katherine Shayne, University of Georgia, graduate student - citizen science using

the Marine Debris Tracker

Presenters of the marine debris session, engage in a panel discussion

Identifying, Understanding, and Reducing Marine Debris in the Gulf and Caribbean

(Moderators : Thomas R. Matthews and Amy V. Uhrin )

(Sponsored by: NOAA Marine Debris Division


plastic items) found in water samples from 256 sites in Florida’s Microplastic Awareness Project. Most presenters agreed that prevention through education and outreach is key to solving this issue and that hands-on activities (i.e., citizen science), videos (as opposed to websites) and celebrity engagement are more effective. Lastly, one presentation discussed the potential for consumer debris like plastic bottles and buckets, and tires to serve as “habitat” for mosquitos (where water can be captured and remain standing) and thus may contribute to incidences of mosquito-borne illnesses such as the Zika virus in Puerto Rico. Following the oral session, a short roundtable discussion with the presenters was undertaken to identify thoughts on marine debris research gaps. There was consensus among the presenters that the following topics are largely understudied and warrant continued effort: exposure/response analysis, ecological risk assessment (especially human health connections), degradation, fate and transport, translating sci-ence to inform management/policy; and potentially the biggest hurdle, changing people’s behavior to change the cycle of activities that create marine debris. For information about the marine debris session and publication, please contact: Amy V. Uhrin ― [email protected] Thomas R. Matthews ― [email protected]

This year the MPA Science and Management” session of the GCFI conference focused on the advances of the application of ecosystem-based approach to the planning and management of marine areas using different types of decision- support systems. This session was coordinated and sponsored by UNEP-CEP-SPAW as part of CaMPAM commitment to use the GCFI conference as a forum for MPA practi-tioners. This subject was based on the UNEP-CEP commitment to promote in the wider Caribbean a variety of tools to integrate scientific and anecdotic information (gathered via stakeholder consultation and engagement) to marine area management. This activity was supported by the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a project aiming at as-sisting the Caribbean region to develop decision-support systems with an EBM approach.

A total of 18 abstracts were received for the 69th GCFI MPA session, and in coordination with Georgi-na Bustamante, CAMPAM Coordinator and Alessandra Vanzella from UNEP-CEP sponsorship, 13 of them were selected for oral presentations and 5 for poster presentations. Papers that address the various dimensions (ecological, social and economic) of the EBM approach to resource use, ecosystem recov-ery, and the development of alternatively livelihoods are encouraged and will be considered by the se-lection committee.

For information about the MPA Science and Management session, please contact: Dr. Martha Prada, session coordinator ― [email protected] Dr. Georgina Bustamante, CaMPAM coordinator ― [email protected]

MPA Science and Management: Advances of the Application of Ecosystem-based Approach

to the Planning and Management of Marine Areas Using Different Types of Decision- support Systems.

(Moderators : Dr. Martha Prada and Dr. Georgina Bustamante.)

Sponsored by: UNEP-CEP-SPAW - CaMPAM


MPA Session Presenters

Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem + (CLME +) Special Activities Under a partnership with GCFI the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem CLME+ hosted two concur-

rent activities during the 69th GCFI annual meeting:

A. A technical session in consolidating a network of data portals to support the reporting on the state

of the marine ecosystems in the CLME+ region. For additional information contact: Patrick

Debels ([email protected]) and Andrea Salinas ([email protected]).

B. Workshop on Identifying Research Needs on Land Based Sources (LBS) Pollution in the Caribbe-

an Region. For additional information contact:

Bob Glazer ― bob.glazer@ gcfi.org

Alejandro Acosta ― [email protected]


Patrick Debels from CLME+ Participants of the GCFI/CLME+

LBS Pollution Workshop

Will Heyman and Mitchell Lay organizers of the 69th

GCFI Fishers Forum

Fishers Forum 2016: - Moderator: Will

James Alric Robinson ― Cayman Brac ― This fisherman is who discovered the NS grouper SPAG in Little Cayman in 2000, gave up fishing it (reluctantly) to let us (DOE) do all the necessary research to develop a management strategy and plan, more so supports the conservation efforts to-wards protection and conservation of this particular species that we are doing and at times voicing his opinion on how well it’s working. He is well respected amongst his peers in the sister islands.

Wesley Wellington Dixon ― Grand Cayman ― One of the oldest fishermen in the Cayman is-lands, was totally against the implementation of MPAs back in 1986, however, now he is one of the advocates for fish conservation and MPAs; he has even gone on camera for us (DOE) promoting acceptance of our new MPAs. A very respected individual amongst his peers i.e. other local fisher-men, Wesley has a peg leg, still fishes but supports our efforts to manage our fishery for the better good.

We wish to acknowledge the support received from the following sponsors of the 2015 Fishers Fo-rum as well as assistance from many individuals on the GMA Committee. Among the local organiz-ers we wish to especially thank Croy McCoy and his colleagues who arranged sponsorships and logistics in Grand Cayman.

We also thank the several organizations who sponsored fisherfolk (men and women with liveli-hoods in harvest and post-harvest sectors) to participate in GCFI.


Croy McCoy from the Department of the Environment with James Alric Robinson and Wesley Wellington Dixon ― the two recognized local fishermen

Fisher Forum Sponsors

The GIFT that Keeps on Giving: 4 Leading Ladies in Caribbean Fisheries 2017 ― Calendar Launch

November 8th, 2016 (George Town, Grand Cayman)—In an effort to increase the awareness of the role women play in the development of fisheries in the Caribbean, the Gender In Fisheries Team (GIFT) has released a 2017 Calendar highlighting leading ladies who have made a significant contri-bution to promoting sustainable fisheries and creating gender awareness.

The Gender In Fisheries Team (GIFT) is a research team led by The University of the West Indies (UWI)- Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES). It seeks to facili-tate and support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

The Calendar designed by Faheema Patel of Junoon Designs, was styled with a feminine twist to the popular nautical theme and featured the colourful vibrance of the Caribbean. The calendar format includes a photo of each leading lady, with a three-month layout featuring a short bio. Photographs were taken by Tony Rath and Risée Chaderton. Featured Leading Ladies include:

Anna Ramirez ― winner of the 2015 Belize Punta Fuego Outstanding Fisher Award and active fish vendor from Punta Gorda, Belize.


Vernel Nicholls ― President of the Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organizations (BARNUFO) and Chairperson of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations (CNFO).

Corrine ‘Feeny’ Bradshaw ― avid fisherlady from Conset Bay, St. John, Barbados. Nadine Nembhard ― Administrative Secretary of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organi-

zations (CNFO), and Co-Chair of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples., and Shelly-Ann Cox ― GIFT team member and Creative Director, .

For more information about the GIFT: http://bit.ly/GenderinFisheriesTeam.

GCFI Student Awards for Academic Excellence Sponsored by:

Sea Grant Programs of the Gulf of Mexico and Puerto Rico Caribbean Marine Fisheries Council

Another great year of student presentations. A total of 33 students competed in the oral and poster cate-gory. The 2016 winners of the Academic Achievement Award winners were:

Members of GIFT team and friends. Among them Shelly-Ann Cox, Mitchell Lay, Maria Pena and others. Two of the Leading Ladies were present to share their experience and to sign copies of the calendars.

Oral Presentation Poster Presentation

Angelo Spadaro, Old Dominion University, for his presentation “Cascading Effects of the Caribbe-an King Crab, Maguimithrax spinosissimus, on Coral Patch Reef Communities in the Florida Keys”

Trevor Moncrief, Gulf Coast Research Lab, Uni-versity of Southern Mississippi, for his poster “Reproductive Biology of Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) from the North Central Gulf of Mexico


The winners of the Ron Schmied Scholarship (sponsored by IFGA, private donations, and GCFI) was:

Trevor Moncrief, Gulf Coast Research Lab, University of Southern Mississippi,

Dr. Alfonso Aguilar Chair of the GCFI Student Committee with Kaylan Dance and Sarah Thomas GCFI Student Travel Award Winners.

The winner of the Society for the Conservation of Fish Aggregations (SCRFA) Travel Award

was Lynn Waterhouse.

The winner of the GCFI NOAA Partnership in Ocean Innovations was Jack Kramer.

GCFI would like to thanks all the judges that par ticipated this year and to Dr . Alfonso Aguilar and Nancy Brown -Peterson for her leadership in organizing this event and the successful silent auction.

Cinefish

CINEFISH 2016 set a record in film submissions for the 10th

edition of this annual Marine Science and Fisheries film festival. Thanks to the leadership of Fadilah, Emma and Bradly, A total of 20 films were submitted. Three Original art pieces from the Cayman Island were given to the top three films of the evening, as judged by the audience. Guy Harvey Institute was a mayor sponsor of this popular activity. The audience this year was comprised of more than 125 scientists, marine managers, fishers, students, and even seafood chefs, and over 100 audience members voted on the best films.


Documentary― William Michaels “Shark Curiosity”

New Media ― Matt Guest, Park Australia “Coral Sea Cleanup and Biodiversity Voyage”

Animation ― Francisco Lopez

“Chez Volitans y El Pez León”

Eastern Caribbean Marine Managed Areas Network (ECMMAN) ―

The Music video from St. Vincent and the Grenadines

“This is who we are (New Starzz, Keith Currency & Mentallis”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBN5MaBv1Ms

Field Trips

The four planned field trips were amazing, and all the participants were impressed with the fa-cilities and the beauty of Cayman Island natu-ral resources. All were a great success: Diving was spectacular; Stingray City a unique Cay-manian experience; Pedro St James and the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, flowers and trees are beautiful.

Banquet at the Seven Mile’s Beach

The GCFI Conference Banquet was sponsored by the Cayman Island Government Department of En-

vironment. Kudos to the sponsors and organizers of the banquet. We were served a great banquet

meal, music and dancing.


The King Fish Trio

We were lucky one more time to be serenaded by the international famous King Fish Trio. They

presented a new set of original songs and new versions of classic rock songs.

CONCLUSION The GCFI expresses its sincere gratitude Cayman Island Government Department of Environment for organizing the 69th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, and to all the governments, NGOs, and private donors for their support to the Conference. The aim of GCFI around the region continues to focus on the challenges and opportunities presented in today’s rapidly changing status of marine resources, with special emphasis on sustainability and conservation of marine resources. Some of the key recommendations, statements, and comments emerging from the conference special symposiums and presentations were:

The attendees valued the opportunity to have a forum to address and discuss their shared challeng-es and successes, especially among fishers, scientist, students, and managers.

As part of networking, emphasis should be made to transfer essential skills, resources, and capaci-ty building to researchers, fishermen, and management staff in less developed countries to help them obtain the data necessary to develop and effectively manage marine resources, MPAs, and fish spawning aggregation sites (SPAGs).

Again the GCFI meeting is a great venue for students of the Gulf and Caribbean region — a great way for students to experience a firsthand encounter with critical regional issues and meet the people working on those issues. Engaging students continues to be one of the top priorities for GCFI. Six student annual awards were given.

There was consensus among the presenters that the marine debris session was needed, and that this topic is largely understudied and warrants continued efforts in the region.

Once again, the annual meeting confirmed GCFI as the most comprehensive and inclusive net-work in the region committed to the exchange of information and the promotion of sustainable use, wise management, conservation, and restoration of regional fisheries and marine resources.

The conference concluded with the announcement that the 2017 GCFI 70th annual meeting will be in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.


It was a great pleasure to work with The Great team from Cayman Island Government Department of Environment. Croy McCoy, Dr. Gina Ebanks-Petrie, Janice Blumenthal,

Bradley Johnson , Lauren Dixon, Michela Lever, and Cassandra MacDowell.

The GCFI expresses its sincere gratitude to : Dr. Gina Ebanks-Petrie; Dr. Tom Austin, Dr. Brice

Semmens, Dr. Steve Gittings, Croy McCroy and Bradley Johnson for their commitment to excel-lence; Guy Harvey Research Institute and Fadilah Ali for sponsoring and coordinating CINEFISH; Janice Blumenthal for coordinating all the student volunteers; Silvia Garcia and her team for her spectacular simultaneous translation; Read Hendon for organizing and sponsoring the poster ses-sion; Will Heyman, Mitchell Lay, for organizing the fishing forum, Emma Doyle, Alfonso Aguilar-Perera, Dalila Aldana Aranda, Martha Prada, Tom Matthews, Graciela Garcia-Moliner, Nancy Brown-Peterson, Mark Peterson, Bob Glazer, Jim Franks, Shirley Gun and many others a nd Jerry Corsaut, as always, was our photographer and valuable go-to person, and many others. Thank you to all the participants and all the sponsors who made the 69th GCFI a success.

Thank you all!

Alejandro Acosta, Program Chair 69th GCFI Leroy Creswell, Executive Secretary

Land of Pirates and Friendship

Documents

OFFICIAL OUTCOMES OF THE 69th GULF OF …flseagrant.ifas.ufl.edu/GCFI/69_proceedings/data/polopoly_fs/1... · serves on the board of our very own Gulf and ... One hundred and twenty