ICCAT Protections for Sharks and Rays in the Turks and Caicos Islands: Developing Awareness, Support, and Compliance Through Outreach and Education

As the Turks and Caicos Islands seeks to develop its pelagic fisheries, the country is in the process of implementing regulations required by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. This will include a ban on retaining 14 different species of sharks and all mobulid rays, as well as a ban on shark-finning. The project will ensure that these new protections lead to reduced mortality of oceanic sharks and rays despite a government initiative to increase fishing effort on pelagic fishes in general.

Through an outreach and education campaign directed at both commercial and recreational fisheries stakeholders in multiple languages and catering to all levels of education and literacy, the project will ensure widespread understanding and smooth adoption of the new regulations. The project will also provide fisheries officers with materials to continue informing the fishing community about the protections for sharks and rays well beyond the project’s end.