Report of the Second Meeting of the WECAFC/CRFM/IFREMER Working Group on the Shrimp and Groundfish of the Northern Brazil-Guianas Shelf, Bridgetown, Barbados, 17-18 May 2018

The 2nd meeting of the Working Group on Shrimp and Groundfish of the North Brazil Guianas Shelf was held in Barbados 17-18 May, 2018. The meeting brought together 25 participants including Working Group members, fisheries officers, fisherfolk representatives, academia, government organizations and FAO. The scope of the working group is to provide scientific and management advice for the sustainable management of the shrimp and groundfish resources of the Northern Brazil-Guianas shelf in the WECAFC Region. The participants reviewed and analyzed the current state of data collection and fisheries management for each country in the North Brazil Guianas Shelf. Also, an update was made on the WECAFC-FIRMS partnership and the outcomes of the 1st Meeting of the Fisheries Data and Statistics Working Group that took place in Barbados, 14-16 May 2018.The assessment of data limited fisheries was presented as an approach to consider for the North Brazil Guianas Shelf shrimp and groundfish fisheries. Additionally, the current status and necessary steps to develop a sub-regional EAF management plan for shrimp and groundfish were discussed, as well as the need to enhance capacity in stock assessment techniques in the sub-region.The Governance Effectiveness Assessment Framework (GEAF) was presented as a mean to assess the CLME+ Strategic Action Programme (SAP). This assessment would be developed for the fisheries of the North Brazil Guianas shelf based on indicators covering the main issues in the sub-region: fisheries, pollution and biodiversity/habitats.Working Group participants also reviewed and discussed the draft regional strategy for bycatch management in the WECAFC Area developed by the REBYC II LAC project.Finally, based on working group discussions and the requirements for sustainable management of the shrimp and groundfish resources of the North Brazil Guianas Shelf, a draft recommendation was prepared for consideration of the upcoming 17th session of WECAFC.