Welcome to CNFO

In 2003/04, a CTA/CARDI/CRFM regional study examined the organizational needs and operational strengths and weaknesses of existing national and primary or community-based Caribbean fisher folk organizations and made recommendations to address them. At a CTA/CARDI/CRFM Regional Workshop held in Belize in 2004 to review the study and recommendations, an explicit recommendation was made to launch a Regional Network of National Fisher Folk Organizations (CARNUFO). It was also decided that CARNUFO would be established when at least 50% of the ACP countries + 1 would have NFOs. In this context, a Working Group was created to develop a strategy for the launch of CARNUFO and make proposals for strengthening the institutional capacities of fisher folk organizations, with the strategy being aimed at addressing the following issues:

• Lack of critical mass of NFOs for launching CARNUFO as defined by the 2004 Belize Workshop;
• Fisher Folk Organizations’ weak management skills;
• Insufficient access to relevant information by fisher folk; and
• Fisher Folk Organizations’ limited communication and advocacy skills.

The Working Group met in Guyana in June 2005 and produced a Strategy and Medium Term Action Plan for the Institutional Strengthening of Regional Fisherfolk Organizations - 2006 to 2010.

Based on the Strategy and Medium Term Action Plan, a project proposal for the development of the Caribbean Network of Fisher Folk Organizations (CARNUFO) was submitted to the CTA. This proposal was reviewed and refined by the CRFM and CTA into the Project/Terms of Reference: Development of Caribbean Network of Fisher Folk Organizations, September 2006 – July 2008, with the overall objective being to contribute to improved income earnings, higher standards of living of fisher folk and the sustainable management of fisheries resources in the Caribbean.