CFMC UPDATES ISLAND-BASED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT PLAN (IBFMP)
Since 1976, the CFMC has managed the fisheries in federal waters through fishery management plans implemented in the 1980s. These plans apply to all the islands in the US Caribbean: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas/St. John y St. Croix. However, since 2016, the CFMC started a process aimed to implement management plans focused on each island. This allows the recognition of the unique attributes of the fishery resources and the communities dependent on those resources. The regulations were revised. Some of the regulations were removed, others were kept, and new ones were included
according to the status of the fisheries in each island. IBFMPs were approved in September 2020 and will be implemented through ruling in 2021. The overarching goal of the IBFMPs is to ensure the continued health of fishery resources occurring in the EEZ surrounding each island and achieve sustainability, within the context of the unique biological, ecological, economic and cultural characteristics of those resources and the communities that are dependent upon them. For more information on these plans, visit: https://caribbeanfmc.com/.