The mesoscale variability in the Caribbean Sea. Part II: Energy sources

The processes which drive the production and the growth of the strong mesoscale eddy field in the Caribbean Sea are examined using a general circulation model. Diagnostics of the simulations suggest that:(1) The mean currents in the Caribbean Sea are intrinsically unstable. The nature of the instability and its strength vary spatially due to strong differences of current structure among basins.(2) The greatest and most energetic eddies of the Caribbean Sea originate in the Venezuela Basin by mixed barotropic-baroclinic instability of an intense jet, formed with waters mostly from the surface return flow of the Meridional Overturning Circulation and the North Equatorial Current which converge and accelerate through the Grenada Passage. The vertical shear of this inflow is enhanced by an eastward undercurrent, which flows along the south American Coast between 100 and 250 m depth. The shallow eddies (less than 200 m depth) formed in the vicinity of the Grenada Passage get rapidly deeper (down to 1000 m depth) and stronger by their interaction with the deep interior flow of the Subtropical Gyre, which enters through passages north of St. Lucia. These main eastern Caribbean inflows merge and form the southern Caribbean Current, whose baroclinic instability is responsible for the westward growth and strengthening of these eddies from the Venezuela to the Colombia Basin.(3) Eddies of lesser strength are produced in other regions of the Caribbean Sea. Their generation and growth is also linked with instability of the local currents. First, cyclones are formed in the cyclonic shear of the northern Caribbean Current, but appear to be rapidly dissipated or absorbed by the large anticyclones coming from the southern Caribbean. Second, eddies in the Cayman Sea, which impact the Yucatan region, are locally produced and enhanced by barotropic instability of the deep Cayman Current.(4) The role of the North Brazil Current (NBC) rings is mostly to act as a finite perturbation for the instability of the mean flow. Their presence near the Lesser Antilles is ubiquitous and they appear to be linked with most of the Caribbean eddies. There are some evidences that the frequency at which they form near the Grenada Passage is influenced by the frequency at which the NBC rings impinge the Lesser Antilles. But large Caribbean eddies also form without a close influence of any ring, and comparison between simulations shows that mean eddy kinetic energy and eddy population in the Caribbean Sea are not substantially different in absence or presence of NBC rings: their presence is not a necessary condition for the generation and growth of the Caribbean eddies.     

Caribbean current variability and the influence of the Amazon and Orinoco freshwater plumes

The variability of the Caribbean Current is studied in terms of the influence on its dynamics of the freshwater inflow from the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. Sea-surface salinity maps of the eastern Caribbean and SeaWiFS color images show that a freshwater plume from the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers extends seasonally northwestward across the Caribbean basin, from August to November, 3–4 months after the peak of the seasonal rains in northeastern South America. The plume is sustained by two main inflows from the North Brazil Current and its current rings. The southern inflow enters the Caribbean Sea south of Grenada Island and becomes the main branch of the Caribbean Current in the southern Caribbean. The northern inflow (14°N) passes northward around the Grenadine Islands and St. Vincent. As North Brazil Current rings stall and decay east of the Lesser Antilles, between 14°N and 18°N, they release freshwater into the northern part of the eastern Caribbean Sea merging with inflow from the North Equatorial Current. Velocity vectors derived from surface drifters in the eastern Caribbean indicate three westward flowing jets: (1) the southern and fastest at 11°N; (2) the center and second fastest at 14°N; (3) the northern and slowest at 17°N. The center jet (14°N) flows faster between the months of August and December and is located near the southern part of the freshwater plume. Using the MICOM North Atlantic simulation, it is shown that the Caribbean Current is seasonally intensified near 14°N, partly by the inflow of river plumes. Three to four times more anticyclonic eddies are formed during August–December, which agrees with a pronounced rise in the number of anticyclonic looper days in the drifter data then. A climatology-forced regional simulation embedding only the northern (14°N) Caribbean Current (without the influence of the vorticity of the NBC rings), using the ROMS model, shows that the low salinity plume coincides with a negative potential vorticity anomaly that intensifies the center jet located at the salinity front. The jet forms cyclones south of the plume, which are moved northwestward as the anticyclonic circulation intensifies in the eastern Caribbean Sea, north of 14°N. Friction on the shelves of the Greater Antilles also generates cyclones, which propagate westward and eastward from 67°W.     

弧后盆地

有关岛弧的研究,在三十年代早已开始了.1930年时,荷兰一位地球物理学家在研究重力异常时发现,在印尼南部的诸岛形成了一个弧状的构造,称它为岛弧.而且发现了它以南弧形的爪哇海槽,这是个很深的海槽,在它北坡下有个很大的重力异常带.这个海槽发现后,许多地质学家普遍认为岛弧在海洋地质上是个很重要的现象,与造山运动有关.     

Strike-slip tectonic processes in the northern Caribbean between Cuba and Hispaniola (Windward Passage)

Marine geophysical data including Seabeam, seismic reflection, magnetics, gravimetry and side-scan sonar have been recently collected along the northern Caribbean strike-slip plate boundary between Cuba and Hispaniola, in the Windward Passage area. The analysis of this comprehensive data set allows us to illustrate active strike-slip tectonic processes in relation to the kinematics of the Caribbean Plate. We show that the transcurrent plate boundary trace runs straight across the Windward Passage, from the southern Cuban Margin in the west (Oriente Fault) to the Tortue Channel in the east. The Windward Passage Deep is thus not an active pull-apart basin, as previously suggested. The plate boundary geometry implies that the motion of the Caribbean Plate relative to the North American Plate is partitioned between a strike-slip component, accommodated by the Windward Passage active fault zone, and a convergence component, accommodated by compression at the bottom of the Northern Hispaniola Margin. On the basis of a correlation with onland geological data, an age is given to the stratigraphic sequences identified on seismic profiles. A kinematic reconstruction is proposed that follows the tectonic unconformities recognized at sea and on land (Late Eocene, Early Miocene, Middle Miocene and Late Pliocene). Each one of these tectonic events corresponds to a drastic reorganization of the plate boundary geometry. We propose to correlate these events with successive collisions of the northern Caribbean mobile terranes against the Bahamas Bank. During each event, the plate boundary trace is shifted to the south and a part of the Caribbean Plate is accreted to North America.     

Structural features and oil-and-gas bearing of the Caribbean region

The structure of the Caribbean region testifies to the extremely unstable condition of the terrestrial crust of this intercontinental and simultaneously interoceanic area. In the recent geological epoch, the Caribbean region is represented by a series of structural elements, the main of which are the Venezuelan and Colombian deep-sea suboceanic depressions, the Nicaraguan Rise, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles bordering the Caribbean Sea in the north and east. There are 63 sedimentary basins in the entire Caribbean region. However, only the Venezuelan and Colombian basins, the Miskito Basin in Nicaragua, and the northern and eastern shelves of the Antilles, Paria Bay, Barbodos-Tobago, and Grenada basins are promising in terms of oil-and-gas bearig. In the Colombian Basin, the southwestern part, located in the rift zone of the Gulf of Uraba, is the most promising. In the Venezuelan Basin, possible oil-and-gas-bearing basins showing little promise are assumed to be in the northern and eastern margins. The main potential of the eastern Caribbean region is attributed to the southern margin, at the shelf zone of which are the Tokuyo-Bonaire, Tuy-Cariaco, Margarita, Paria Bay, Barbados–Tobago, and Grenada oil-and-gas-bearing basins. The rest of the deepwater depressions of the Caribbean Sea show little promise for hydrocarbon research due to the small thickness of the deposits, their flat bedding, and probably a lack of fluid seals.     

Tectonics, basin subsidence mechanisms, and paleogeography of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary zone

Using a mega-regional dataset that includes over 20,000 km of on- and offshore 2D seismic lines and 12 wells, we illustrate three different stages of fault formation and basin evolution in the Caribbean arc-South American continent collisional zone. Transpressional deformation associated with oblique collision of the Caribbean arc migrates diachronously over a distance of ∼1500 km from western Venezuela in Paleogene time (∼57 Ma) to a zone of active deformation in the eastern offshore Trinidad area. Each diachronous stage of pre-, syn-, and post-collisional basin formation is accompanied by distinct patterns of fault families. We use subsidence histories from wells to link patterns of long-term basinal subsidence to periods of activity of the fault families.

Stage one of arc-continent collision

Initial collision is characterized by overthrusting of the south- and southeastward-facing Caribbean arc and forearc terranes onto the northward-subducting Mesozoic passive margin of northern South America. Northward flexure of the South American craton produces a foreland basin between the thrust front and the downward-flexed continental crust that is initially filled by clastic sediments shed both from the colliding arc and cratonic areas to the south. As the collision extends eastward towards Trinidad, this same process continues with progressively younger foreland basins formed to the east. On the overthrusting Caribbean arc and forearc terranes, north-south rifting adjacent to the collision zone initiates and is controlled by forward momentum of southward-thrusting arc terranes combined with slab pull of the underlying and subducting, north-dipping South American slab. Uplift of fold-thrust belts arc-continent suture induces rerouting of large continental drainages parallel to the collisional zone and to the axis of the foreland basins.

Stage two

This late stage of arc-continent collision is characterized by termination of deformation in one segment of the fold-thrust belt as convergent deformation shifts eastward. Rebound of the collisional belt is produced as the north-dipping subducted oceanic crust breaks off from the passive margin, inducing inversion of preexisting normal faults as arc-continent convergence reaches a maximum. Strain partitioning also begins to play an important role as oblique convergence continues, accommodating deformation by the formation of parallel, strike-slip fault zones and backthrusting (southward subduction of the Caribbean plate beneath the South Caribbean deformed belt). As subsidence slows in the foreland basins, sedimentation transitions from a marine underfilled basin to an overfilled continental basin. Offshore, sedimentation is mostly marine, sourced by the collided Caribbean terranes, localized islands and carbonate deposition.

Stage three

This final stage of arc-continent collision is characterized by: 1) complete slab breakoff of the northward-dipping South American slab; 2) east-west extension of the Caribbean arc as it elongates parallel to its strike forming oblique normal faults that produce deep rift and half-grabens; 3) continued strain partitioning (strike-slip faulting and folding). The subsidence pattern in the Caribbean basins is more complex than interpreted before, showing a succession of extensional and inversion events. The three tectonic stages closely control the structural styles and traps, source rock distribution, and stratigraphic traps for the abundant hydrocarbon resources of the on- and offshore areas of Venezuela and Trinidad.     

Applying the large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework in the Wider Caribbean Region

The large marine ecosystem (LME) governance framework was developed to address the complexity inherent within the Wider Caribbean Region with respect to the region's shared living marine resources. The framework is adaptable to all multi-scale living marine resource situations and provides a basis for incremental implementation of interventions. Parts of the overall governance framework can be targeted for sub-framework development and strengthening through institutional reforms and capacity building. Three examples, the Eastern Caribbean flyingfish fishery, marine protected area (MPA) management and the Eastern Caribbean tuna fishery, are used to illustrate the application of the framework in facilitating and assessing governance effectiveness in the Caribbean. In each case, the purpose is to show the different governance questions that must be addressed at policy, strategy and action levels to make up a complete governance arrangement and how these are distributed among several levels on the institutional scale that typically occur in regional marine resource governance.     

Ecological assessments of the coral reef communities in the Eastern Caribbean and the effects of herbivory in influencing coral juvenile density and algal cover

Caribbean reefs have been unevenly surveyed, with many areas lacking baseline data. In this study, the current status of Orbicella reefs, a structurally complex forereef habitat, was quantified in an understudied region, the Eastern Caribbean. During 2011 the same observers surveyed benthic assemblages, coral juvenile density, herbivorous fishes, and invertebrates at 30 Orbicella reefs in four Eastern Caribbean areas: Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines (hereafter St Vincent). Not all Orbicella forereefs were functionally the same in the Eastern Caribbean. Benthic communities and herbivorous fishes varied greatly among islands. Hard coral had the highest overall percent cover on most reefs in this study, with an average cover of 22%, and was greater than fleshy macroalgal cover at 83% of the sites. Overall, coral juvenile density was low but was positively associated with higher densities of Diadema antillarum, highlighting the importance of herbivory on the reefs. Nearshore coral reefs in Barbados were in a better state than other areas, exhibiting higher coral cover dominated by spawning corals, higher densities of coral juveniles exhibiting higher coral cover dominated by spawning corals, higher densities of coral juveniles and D. antillarum. Low biomass of herbivorous fishes at a majority of the coral reef sites is of major concern for the functioning of these reefs. Conservation of parrotfishes and other herbivores is necessary given the abundance of algae on most of these reefs and the beneficial effect of their presence on coral juveniles. This is the first comprehensive study that compares the state of Orbicella reefs in the Eastern Caribbean, providing valuable information that will be useful in creating realistic targets for future management and conservation.     

The mesoscale variability in the Caribbean Sea. Part I: Simulations and characteristics with an embedded model

The variability in the Caribbean Sea is investigated using high resolution (1/15°) general circulation model experiments. For the first time in this region, simulations were carried out with a 2-way nested configuration of the NEMO primitive equation model. A coarse North Atlantic grid (1/3°) reproduces the main features of the North Atlantic and Equatorial circulation capable of influencing ocean dynamics in the Caribbean Sea. This numerical study highlights strong dynamical differences among basins and modifies the view that dynamics are homogeneous over the whole Caribbean Basin. The Caribbean mean flow is shown to organize in two intense jets flowing westward along the northern and southern boundaries of the Venezuela Basin, which merge in the center of the Colombia Basin. Diagnostics of model outputs show that width, depth and strength of baroclinic eddies increase westward from the Lesser Antilles to the Colombia Basin. The widening and strengthening to the west is consistent with altimetry data and drifter observations. Although influenced by the circulation in the Colombia Basin, the variability in the Cayman Basin (which also presents a westward growth from the Chibcha Channel) is deeper and less energetic than the variability in the Colombia/Venezuela Basins. Main frequency peaks for the mesoscale variability present a westward shift, from roughly 50 days near the Lesser Antilles to 100 days in the Cayman Basin, which is associated with growth and merging of eddies.     

Are Caribbean MPAs making progress toward their goals and objectives?

Regional efforts have increased the number and amount of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean, yet few studies have examined how these MPAs are progressing toward their goals and objectives. Using social and ecological data from a rapid assessment of 31 MPAs and their associated human communities in the wider Caribbean, this study investigates (1) the stated social and ecological objectives of MPAs; (2) the extent to which MPAs are making progress toward their stated social and ecological objectives; and (3) tradeoffs in progress toward social and ecological objectives. Findings indicate that Caribbean MPAs have multiple objectives related to both social and ecological conditions, and that most MPAs are making at least some progress towards achieving these objectives. Those MPAs with stated objectives to promote education and serve as a model for other MPAs seem to be making good progress on these objectives, while those with the objective of reducing conflict are not. Where MPAs are not meeting their goals and objectives, planners and managers should consider reallocating human and financial resources to address deficiencies and re-evaluating existing goals and objectives. It is important to consider how existing marine protected areas are performing as efforts in the Caribbean region and elsewhere continue to promote the establishment of new MPAs.     

Sources and transport of suspended particulates in the Caribbean Sea

Gravimetric and light-scattering studies of total suspended matter reveal that the bulk of this material is introduced into the Caribbean through the passages of the Lesser Antilles, most likely the result of discharge of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. A broad suspended-matter high extends northward from the South American coast, apparently related to northward advection at the confluence of the westward-moving Caribbean Current and an easterly coastal countercurrent off Colombia. Particulate matter distribution may be accounted for by transport from the northern and eastern sills, with resuspension in the deep basins playing a minor role. Localized concentrations appear to be entering through the Greater Antillean sills, and then are carried westward by the prevailing currents.     

Sea surface temperature 1871-2099 in 38 cells in the Caribbean region

Sea surface temperature (SST) data with monthly resolution are provided for 38 cells in the Caribbean Sea and Bahamas region, plus Bermuda. These series are derived from the HadISST1 data set for historical time (1871-1999) and from the HadCM3 coupled climate model for predicted SST (1950-2099). Statistical scaling of the forecast data sets are performed to produce confluent SST series according to a now established method. These SST series are available for download. High water temperatures in 1998 killed enormous amounts of corals in tropical seas, though in the Caribbean region the effects at that time appeared less marked than in the Indo-Pacific. However, SSTs are rising in accordance with world-wide trends and it has been predicted that temperature will become increasingly important in this region in the near future. Patterns of SST rise within the Caribbean region are shown, and the importance of sub-regional patterns within this biologically highly interconnected area are noted.     

Micropaleontological,mineralogical, and geochemical record in late quaternary cores from abyssal Grenada Basin

Clay mineralogy and trace-element geochemistry of two abyssal cores indicate that the primary source of surface-current-transported detrital material in the southern Grenada Basin changed from a continental, South American terrane to a volcanic, Lesser Antillean terrane at the end of the Pleistocene. The record of benthic foraminiferal assemblages demonstrates that the Caribbean Bottom Water (CBW) was relatively oxygen poor and less corrosive in late Pleistocene glacial times than in interglacial times. The change in the properties of CBW in the Holocene was related to a renewed influx of North Atlantic Deep Water in the Caribbean.     

Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)

The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not necessarily suggest a subduction process. We tested the hypothesized subduction of the Caribbean plate’s interior beneath the eastern Greater Antilles island arc using gravity modeling. Gravity models simulating a subduction process yield a regional mass deficit beneath the island arc independently of the geometry and depth of the subducted slab used in the models. This mass deficit results from sinking of the less dense Caribbean slab beneath the lithospheric mantle replacing denser mantle materials and suggests that there is not a subducted Caribbean plateau beneath the island arc. The geologically more realistic gravity model which would explain the N–S shortening observed in the upper crust requires an overthrusted Caribbean slab extending at least 60 km northward from the deformation front, a progressive increase in the thrusting angle from 8° to 30° reaching a maximum depth of 22 km beneath the insular slope. This new tectonic model for the Muertos Margin, defined as a retroarc thrusting, will help to assess the seismic and tsunami hazard in the region. The use of gravity modeling has provided targets for future wide-angle seismic surveys in the Muertos Margin.     

Biological indicators in the Caribbean coastal zone and their role in integrated coastal management

Caribbean coastal ecosystems are increasingly being threatened by natural and anthropogenic factors. The scale of these factors is at local, national, regional and global levels. Threats include the effects of fisheries and extraction, eutrophication, siltation, and pollution as well as global climate events such as El Niño and global climate change. Integrated coastal management (ICM) should clearly demonstrate the adverse effects of environmental impacts, thus justifying the need for mitigation and should evaluate the success of management efforts. ICM requires robust indicators that gauge the ‘health’ of the coast in relation to environmental, social and economic activities. Biological indicators (bioindicators) offer a signal of the biological condition in an ecosystem. Using bioindicators as an early warning of pollution or degradation in an ecosystem can help sustain critical resources. Biological indicators in the Caribbean are focused around particular ecosystems, especially coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests and include a range of biological parameters relating to particular species, groups of species and biological processes. The use of these indicators is critically reviewed and the presence or absence of a relevant framework for their use in Caribbean ICM programs is discussed.     

Transport of South Atlantic water through the passages south of Guadeloupe and across 16°N, 2000–2004

CTD, vessel-mounted ADCP and LADCP measurements in the Caribbean passages south of Guadeloupe (three repeats) and along 16°N (five repeats) were carried out between December 2000 and July 2004. The CTD data were used to calculate the contribution of South Atlantic water (SAW) in the upper 1200 m between the isopycnals σ_θ=24.5 and 27.6. Northern and southern source water masses are defined and an isopycnal mixing approach is applied. The SAW fractions are then combined with the ADCP flow field to calculate the transport of SAW into the Caribbean and across 16°N. The SAW inflow into the Caribbean through the passages south of Guadeloupe ranges from 7.6 to 11.6 Sv, which is 50–75% of the total inflow. The mean (9.1±2.2 Sv) is in the range of previous estimates. Ambiguities in the northern and southern source water masses of the salinity maximum water permitted us only to calculate the contribution of SAW from the eastern source in this water mass. We estimated the additional SAW transport by the western source to be of the order of 1.9±0.7 Sv. The calculation of the SAW transport across 16°N was hampered by the presence of several anticyclonic rings from the North Brazil Current (NBC) retroflection region, some of the rings were subsurface intensified. Provided that the rings observed at 16°N are typical rings and that all rings which are annually produced in the NBC retroflection area (6.5–8.5 per year) reach 16°N, the SAW ring transport across 16°N is calculated to 5.3±0.7 Sv. From the 5 repeats at 16°N, only two showed a net northward flow, suggesting that the mean northward SAW transport is dominated by ring advection. The joint SAW transports of the Caribbean inflow (9.1 Sv) and the flow across 16°N (5.3 Sv) sum up to 14.4 Sv. The transport increases to 16.3 Sv if the additional SAW transport from the western source of SMW (1.9±0.7 Sv) is included. These transport estimates and the following implications depend strongly on the assumption that the surface water in the Caribbean inflow is of South Atlantic origin. The transport estimates are, however, in the range of the inverse model calculations for the net cross-hemispheric flow. About 30–40% of this transport is intermediate water from the South Atlantic, presumably supporting studies which found the contributions of intermediate and upper warm water to be of a comparable magnitude. For the upper warm water (σ_θ<27.1), the Caribbean inflow seems to be the major path (7.9±1.6 Sv), the ring induced transport across 16°N is about 30% of that value. The intermediate water transport across 16°N was calculated to be 2.3–3.6 Sv, the inflow into the Caribbean is slightly smaller (1.5–2.4 Sv).     

Deep Caribbean Sea warming

Data collected from hydrographic stations occupied within the Venezuelan and Columbian basins of the Caribbean Sea from 1922 through 2003 are analyzed to study the decadal variability of deep temperature in the region. The analysis focuses on waters below the 1815-m sill depth of the Anegada–Jungfern Passage. Relatively dense waters (compared to those in the deep Caribbean) from the North Atlantic spill over this sill to ventilate the deep Caribbean Sea. Deep warming at a rate of over 0.01 °C decade^–1 below this sill depth appears to have commenced in the 1970s after a period of relatively constant deep Caribbean Sea temperatures extending at least as far back as the 1920s. Conductivity–temperature–depth station data from World Ocean Circulation Experiment Section A22 along 66°W taken in 1997 and again in 2003 provide an especially precise, albeit geographically limited, estimate of this warming over that 6-year period. They also suggest a small (0.001 PSS-78, about the size of expected measurement biases) deep freshening. The warming is about 10 times larger than the size of geothermal heating in the region, and is of the same magnitude as the average global upper-ocean heat uptake over a recent 50-year period. Together with the freshening, the warming contributes about 0.012 m decade^–1 of sea level rise in portions of the Caribbean Sea with bottom depths around 5000 m.     

Dietary Shifts in the Queen Triggerfish, Balistes vetula, in the Absence of its Primary Food Item, Diadema antillarum

Abstract. The long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum has been reported to be the major food item of the queen triggerfish, Balistes vetula in the Caribbean. This sea urchin has undergone a massive mortality on reefs throughout the Caribbean during 1983. The dietary habits of twenty-three queen triggerfish from patch reef habitats in Belize were examined. It was found that crabs and chitons now form the major dietary items when D. antillarum is not available. It is suggested that this predator, which was previously specialized on a single food item, is able to shift resource utilization in the absence of its primary food source, and that the queen triggerfish can capture diverse prey from a wide variety of habitats.     

Terms of reference towards an integrated management policy in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean

The ecological and socioeconomic importance of the Mexican coastal zone of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean is analyzed and its main problems of pollution and environmental impact are described. Also, the legal, institutional, and technical framework that is applied to the coastal management of the region is analyzed. Finally, the definition and implementation of a Program of Integrated Management for the Coastal Zone of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, a Law for the Coastal Zone of the country, and adjustments to the main instruments of national environmental policy applied to the coastal zone of the region are proposed.     

Current issues in fisheries governance in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

In this paper we identify the critical issues which Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries must address in defining their approach to fisheries governance. We suggest practical measures which should be taken in order to deal with these issues. Emphasis is placed on institutional reform which builds a broader institutional base for resource management than has been common in the past. Fisheries administrations need to develop partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, particularly fisherfolk organizations. This includes strengthening the capacity of those organizations to participate in the management process. There is also the need to strengthen regional organizations within the Caribbean, in order that they may better manage shared resources within the region as well as participate in international management initiatives.