Co-management in Caribbean Fisheries? The Case of St. Lucia

Abstract

"One of the most interesting and promising solutions to management problems concerning renewable natural resources and their institutional settings is the co-management model. One of the issues rarely and not adequately addressed in the literature of co-management is the question of organization. Organizations are vital to the implementation of co-management. However, in developing countries, there is often a poorly developed organizational infrastructure both on the national and local levels, and between the levels. To establish new organizations often places heavy demands on resources and is difficult in these countries. Thus, one of the basic questions regarding the establishment of a co-management regime is to what extent there are organizational structures present that can facilitate co-management. The question addressed here is: To what extent is the present local institutional landscape in St. Lucia suitable for the introduction of co-management, and in what type of fishery? We focus on three types of organizations, fishery co-operatives, NGO's, and local government, representing three fundamentally different types of institutional design. We find that neither of these organizations are presently capable of taking co-management responsibility in the St. Lucian fisheries, and that the best way to move towards increased user-group participation is to establish a national fishermen's union."