FishSource

Belize spiny lobster - free-diving and casitas (FIP)

Last Updated: 2023-06-16

Progress Rating: B

Evaluation Start Date: 2019-11-01

Type: Basic

Status: Active

FIP Lead: The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Blue Ventures (BV), Future of Fish (FF), The National Fishermen's Producers Cooperative Society Ltd. (TNFPCSL), Northern Fishermen's Cooperative Society Ltd. (NFCSL)

Stock Profile Link
Caribbean spiny lobster - Western Central Atlantic

Comments:

The FIP has reported stage 4 activity in the last 12 months. The FIP remains B rated.

1. FIP Development	Oct 19	Fishery assessment or scoping document made public 11 October 2019 — MSC Preassessment made public
2. FIP Launch	Nov 19	Confirmation of project participants 1 November 2019 — Participants confirmed
2. FIP Launch	Nov 19	Workplan made public 1 November 2019 — Workplan made public
3. FIP Implementation	Oct 23	FIP activities undertaken 1 October 2023 — The FIP has contracted CADS to conduct an Institutional Strengthening Assessment at the Northern Fishermen Cooperative Society Ltd; bylaws are in the process of being updated and the consultancy remains underway. 7 September 2023 — The FIP was invited to give a presentation by the Belize Fisheries Department to discuss the fishery's status and to explore collaboration opportunities for sustainability. 15 June 2023 — The 20th FIP Steering Committee Meeting was held to discuss ongoing FIP progress and and updates. 30 May 2023 — The third report of the IDB design and concept project has been made available. The project will aim to support the existing traceability program and develop new catch-log standards. 1 May 2023 — An institutional strengthening consultancy is planned for Northern Coop and theToR have been discussed and agreed upon. 1 April 2023 — The ToRs for the research on the impact of trap and casitas on ETP species and the habitat are being finalized and implementation will soon be underway. 1 December 2022 — The FIP has signed a data-sharing agreement with the Belize Fishing Authorities 1 December 2022 — A VMS pilot was conducted for the Safety at Sea program from June 2021- December 2022 which trialed safety improvements for fishers and mariners at sea, including SOS alerts. 1 October 2022 — The FIP continually shares social media posts and newsletter updates providing details about its activities conducted between March and August 2023. 1 July 2022 — A communication strategy has been developed by Blue Ventures to support the FIP's outreach efforts 1 July 2022 — A summary of the FIP workplan revision workshop has been made available; with the completion of the stock assessment, the FIP stakeholder groups have agreed to investigate what a rebuilding strategy would look like. 24 June 2022 — The Belize Fisheries Department (BFD) held a national lobster stock assessment workshop that covered topics such as national landings and water monitoring data analysis. 9 June 2022 — TNC has put forth a request for proposals; The RFP seeks to digitally link existing cooperative-level fisheries landings data visualization dashboard with landings data feeding from an electronic traceability system 1 January 2022 — TASA Q1 2022 progress report made available 16 December 2021 — Ongoing trainings continue to be held for TASA's rangers on tech-driver solutions to support enforcement 10 December 2021 — Email sent by TNC's Fisheries Specialist to Fisheries representative sharing the proposed TOR and Draft workplan for the Research and Monitoring Task Force has been made available 29 October 2021 — TASA has acquired 56 new units & WCS has acquired 17 new units for the Safety at Sea program. 22 October 2021 — Fall 2021 Steering Committee Meeting held; The Committee agreed with FIP Coordinator proposal to merge AMF Task Force with Research and Monitoring Task Force. 1 July 2021 — Traceability system is now installed in Northern Cooperative; both cooperatives now have systems in place and are operational. 1 June 2021 — Two proposals to fund research looking at casita impact on seagrass habitat have been submitted and are awaiting review 1 June 2021 — Global research study conducted by Masters student Allegra LeFerr with Scripps Imnstitution of Oceanography, to investigate successful benefit programs in co-ops inside and outside of the fisheries sector 1 June 2021 — The Socio-Economic Task Force has been created and will cover this workstream and build off the recommendations by CADs 30 April 2021 — TNC Belize, Future of Fish, and Blue Ventures (as FIP Coordinator Role) have held bi-weekly regular strategic check in meetings from Jan-April 30, 2021 1 April 2021 — Virtual FIP launch event was held in April 2021 1 January 2021 — The Tech Based Enforcement Task Force has been launched and is operational with their first meeting held recently 1 September 2020 — A pilot project has launched to track and record Turneffe casita inventory; TASA has currently tagged 1,800 traps in the pilot over the COVID-19 SOE period 1 September 2020 — A CAPSTONE student from University of California, San Diego (Scripps) conducted preliminary research on existing training programs for fishers. 1 February 2020 — Tally system at the two cooperatives continue to collect landing data that will help inform a stock assessment; June 2020 - Feb 2021 data is available 23 January 2020 — The Safety at Sea strategy has been launched by WCS; 59 vessels have been outfitted with VMS systems 23 January 2020 — Visualization tool by Vericatch is in place to help BDF visualize the landing data; 1 training has been completed on use of this tool. 20 January 2020 — TASA January 2021 report 9 January 2020 — Coordinator confirmed for this FIP to provide support to the steering committee and other working groups outlined in the work plan
4. Improvements in Fishing Practices and Fishery Management	Apr 23	Verifiable improvement in policy/management and fishing practices 25 April 2023 — Increase to PI 1.2.1; Three-year audit conducted. There are efforts in place to review the current fishing practices and make changes to minimize UoA mortality of unwanted target stock. 25 April 2023 — Increase to PI 3.2.3; Three-year audit conducted. There is extensive use of rangers and patrol vessels that are well-equipped in handling enforcement procedures. 25 April 2023 — Increase to PI 2.3.3; Three-year audit conducted. There are no interactions with ETP species identified within the fishery. 5 July 2021 — Fisheries Advisory Council has been formed and implemented 1 January 2020 — The Fisheries Resource Act was passed January 2020
5. Improvements on the Water	—	Verifiable improvement on the water
6. MSC certification (optional)	—	MSC certificate made public