Report of the Third Meeting of the WECAFC/CRFM/IFREMER Working Group on the Shrimp and Groundfish of the Northern Brazil-Guianas Shelf Paramaribo, Suriname, 26–27 November 2019

The Third Meeting of the Working Group on Shrimp and Groundfish of the Northern Brazil-Guianas Shelf was held in Paramaribo, Suriname, 26–27 November 2019. The meeting brought together 25 participants including Working Group members, fisheries officers, fisherfolk representatives, academia, government organizations and FAO. The scope of the Working Group is to provide scientific and management advice for the sustainable management of the shrimp and groundfish resources of the Northern Brazil-Guianas shelf in the WECAFC Region. The member countries representatives also presented an update on the status and development of their national fisheries management plans, followed by a discussion about the current status and necessary steps to develop a sub-regional EAF management plan for shrimp and groundfish. Additionally, advances in a gender analysis along the small scale fisheries value chain in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago was presented, as well as an update regarding progress with the development of the subregional Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Indicators to inform policy making on governance effectiveness. Working Group participants reviewed and discussed the draft regional strategy for bycatch management in the WECAFC Area developed by the REBYC II LAC project. They also discussed the needs and priorities to combat IUU fishing in the Northern Brazil-Guianas-shelf, as well as the need to enhance capacity in stock assessment techniques in the sub-region. A work plan for the intersessional period was agreed upon by the participants. Finally, based on Working Group discussions and the requirements for sustainable management of the shrimp and groundfish resources of the Northern Brazil-Guianas Shelf, a draft recommendation was prepared for consideration by the upcoming 18th session of WECAFC.