Report of the fiftheenth session of the Commission. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 26-28 March 2014

The fifteenth session of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 26 to 28 March 2014. The session was attended by 29 members of the Commission. Observers from five regional fishery bodies (RFBs) and five intergovernmental organizations also participated. The Commission adopted four regional fisheries management recommendations respectively on: 1) spawning aggregations of groupers and snappers, 2) the use of fish aggregating devices, 3) Queen Conch management and conservation and 4) fisheries management planning. The Commission also adopted five resolutions on 1) illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, 2) the Regional Strategy for the Control of Invasive Lionfish, 3) the implementation of voluntary guidelines on Small-scale fisheries and Tenure, 4) the implementation of the Port state Measures Agreement and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines on flag State performance and 5) the strategic action programme for the sustainable management of the shared living marine resources of the Caribbean and north Brazil shelf large marine ecosystems. The Commission thanked FAO for the Performance Review of WECAFC, adopted the WECAFC Strategic Plan 2014–2020, approved the Programme of Work (2014–15), maintained the seven joint working groups and established three new working groups, endorsed the WECAFC–FIRMS partnership, adopted the revised Rules of Procedures and discussed the options for strategic reorientation of the Commission. No decision was taken on starting a transition process of WECAFC into a Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO), as members required additional information.