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Abstract:
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"This paper examines the existing and past models of fisheries management in the CARICOM region and argues that there are trends leading towards the adoption of the co-management model in the region, and that this should be followed through in the management of fisheries at the community level. It clarifies the concepts of property rights and co-management as used in the article, and makes a conceptual differentiation between the co-management of the 'open-access' off-shore fisheries and the co-management of the in-shore, communal common property. It assesses the possibilities and problems involved in the fishermen's organizations and communities playing the role of co-managers of these fisheries. Additionally, based on empirical data re: the position of the fishers on the issue, argues for the adoption of the co-management of communal common property model in the region. It examines the past and present forms of traditional systems of the management of communal common property, and argues that elements of these could be formalised and upgraded, through existing institutional arrangements in the region, for the enhancement of the capabilities of the fishermen's organizations and communities to play the role of co-managers of communal common property. Finally, it identifies the rights and responsibilities of the state and the fishermen as co-managers of communal common property in fisheries, and poses the question, 'Are the governments and fishermen of the CARICOM region prepared and ready to assume the additional responsibilities involved?' The possibilities are analyzed, using empirical data from recent research in fishing communities in the region, and concludes that certain vital conditions must be fulfilled, in order to upgrade the capabilities of the fishermen for the tasks involved in the adoption of the co-management of communal common property in the fisheries of the region."
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