Remarks
Launch of the Blue Justice Caribbean Hub at the Blue Resilience Conference, Copenhagen
By Assistant Resident Representative Ava Whyte Anderson
23 March 2023 @ 3:30 p.m.

Salutations  

• Pearnel Charles Jr, Minister of Agriculture & Fisheries, Jamaica
• Excellencies and Honourable Ministers
• Unni Kløvstad, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
• Gavin Bellamy, Chief Executive Officer, National Fisheries Authority, Jamaica
• Peter A Murray, Senior Advisor, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat
• Emma Witbooi, Project Manager UNDP Blue Resilience, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Other distinguished ladies and gentlemen
 

Good afternoon!

It is my distinct honour to greet you on behalf of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country offices serving the Caribbean region. 

Nearly five years after the first signing of the Copenhagen Declaration here in UN City, we are pleased to return to Copenhagen with a fully engaged and committed Caribbean ministerial team to support the launch of the Blue Justice Caribbean Hub. This is a powerful demonstration of inter-governmental and interagency cooperation on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing utilising digital innovation. 

For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as those in the Caribbean, the ocean is more than just an engine of livelihoods, commerce, and energy production. It is the inheritance of generations, and the people of SIDS see this gift as a responsibility. Therefore, developing and maximizing the Caribbean region’s blue economy is essential to driving economic development, diversification and enhancing the quality of people’s lives. 

However, the Caribbean faces significant challenges in this mission. A 2022 Report on Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that some 8  to 15 percent of the annual catch is lost to IUU fishing annually.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the value of fish lost to criminal activities alone is between 10 to 23 billion dollars annually. Overfishing causes food insecurity and displaces fisher livelihoods and fish-related industries and is often associated with serious crimes.   

In the words of Assistant Secretary-General, CARICOM Secretariat, Joseph Cox: “IUU fishing and transnational organized crime in the global fishing industry constitutes a serious threat to the security and the sustainable use of the region’s living marine resources and marine biodiversity … it also jeopardizes food security and blue economic development of the countries in the region ”. 

As such, in fulfilment of our global mission focused on eliminating poverty and inequality while building resilience against shocks and crises, UNDP remains resolute in helping countries effectively govern and manage their coastal and marine resources.
The Blue Justice Caribbean Hub represents an excellent example of how UNDP intends to leverage   Digital Transformation as a key pillar in our SIDS Offer to drive socio-economic development and advance sustainable livelihoods and quality of life with focus on the most vulnerable populations.  We are happy to join forces with our committed CARICOM and international partners to advance the regional and national goals with respect to eliminating IUU fishing through this transformative Hub. 

Through strategic partnerships, UNDP is building digital capacity in the Caribbean to help countries use digitalization to address development problems. Importantly, technology and digital innovation can boost ocean governance, reduce fisheries crime, and enhance sustainable management of marine resources, while improving livelihoods. 

One example of UNDP’s efforts in this arena is BlueDIGITAL, a pilot experiment from one of UNDP’s Accelerator Labs in the region that applies digital tools and solutions to improve segments of the Blue Economy ecosystem and value chains for fisherfolk, government, tourism industry partners and the general public as consumers.

On behalf of the UNDP Country offices in the Caribbean, I would like to thank the Norwegian Government and the UNDP Blue Resilience Project team for your continued support and guidance. We also commend the CARICOM governments for their demonstrated commitment to ending IUU fishing.

We believe the Caribbean stands to make a sizeable contribution to the achievement of SDG 14 – Life Below Water. UNDP in collaboration with our partners are committed to providing the requisite resources at the national and regional levels to ensure the Hub meets its full potential.  

Thank you!