Report of the Fourteenth Session of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission

The Fourteenth Session of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) was held in Panama City, Panama, from 6 to 9 February 2012. The following members attended the session: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Dominica, Dominican Republic, European Union, France, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and United States of America. The Commission adopted a Resolution on strengthening the implementation of international fisheries instruments in the Caribbean region, approved the WECAFC Programme of Work (2012-13), agreed on the WECAFC logo, and endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the Regional Policy and Planning Workshop on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) in the Caribbean: Achieving Improved Fisheries Management and Utilization in the Wider Caribbean Region, held in Barbados, 6-9 December 2011. The Commission also established and reconfirmed seven joint working groups on: Spiny Lobster, Recreational Fisheries, Queen Conch, Development of Sustainable Moored Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) Fishing in the Lesser Antilles, Flying fish in the Eastern Caribbean, the Management of Deep-Sea Fisheries, and on Spawning Aggregations.