THEME OF THE CONFERENCE
The theme of GCFI72 is "Expanding partnerships between government, public and private entities for sustainable fisheries and innovative science". Public-private partnerships have been strongly promoted in the education, health, infrastructure, and community development sectors to improve efficiency in the generation and performance of these public services. This has also been the case in the sectors of marine resource and fisheries conservation in which the government, the public, and private sector and civil society are encouraging the use of alliances to generate and disseminate innovations that would otherwise occur. they would be difficult to develop independently.
Gathering various sectors is particularly useful to address specific issues that require an effective approach to address complex issues of national or global importance that require different fields of specialization. This is the case of fishing in the Caribbean region, which is increasingly confronted with natural and anthropogenic factors that affect its sustainability. Among them are the global challenges of providing sufficient sustainable marine products, to meet the growing and changing demand for fish products, the development of coastal areas, the increase in tourism and the impact of natural events such as storms, changing climate influences, and in the case of Punta Cana, the influx of sargassum. Although much has been written in support of public-private partnerships as a mechanism to encourage research and innovation of natural resources, they are still little used and perhaps little understood. Therefore, the purpose of this session is to present experiences of government/public/private/civil society in the development of alliances focused on the generation of innovations oriented towards sustainable fishing and the conservation of marine resources. This session aims to develop these concepts and objectives through the participation of experts, academics, politicians and managers, as well as organizations interested in marine issues, natural resources, sustainable fisheries, and tourism. We encourage the participation of presentations that include the following topics:
• Case studies of existing associations that:
- Support fishermen and communities as they work to meet sustainable fisheries objectives
- Promote safety, conservation, and fisheries management.
- They develop and improve markets for the communities and businesses of fishermen.
- Promote research, training, capacity-building and
- Improve the sustainability of local and regional fisheries.
- Promote and provide support for innovation at the local and regional level
- Understand how partnerships can be jointly financed by various public and private partners in collaborative ventures,
- Examine the regulatory framework surrounding public-private partnerships,
- Tourism as a sustainable livelihood option for fishing communities,
- Climate change and tourism,
- Recreational fishing as a tourist activity