Report Of The Fifth Meeting Of The Cfmc Ospesca Wecafc Crfm Cites Working Group On Queen Conch San Juan Puerto Rico 13 14 December 2021

The fifth meeting of the CFMC/OSPESCA/WECAFC/CRFM/CITES Working Group on Queen Conch (QCWG) was held in a hybrid format. The meeting was hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 13 to 14 December 2021, but most attendees participated in the meeting remotely. The following members and regional partner organizations participated: Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, European Union, France (on behalf of Guadeloupe and Martinique), Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the United States of America, the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC), the Organization for the Fishing and Aquaculture Sector of the Central American Isthmus (OSPESCA). The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), the Regional Committee of Marine Fisheries and Marine Aquaculture of Guadeloupe, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (Belize). Experts were also in attendance from the Scientific, Statistical and Technical Advisory Group of the Queen Conch Working Group (QCWG/SSTAG). Discussions focused on the progress made towards implementation of the Regional Queen Conch Fisheries Management and Conservation Plan and recommendations adopted at the 17th meeting of the Commission in 2019. Participants learned about collaborative work on Queen conch, especially at the regional level, and an overview of the intersessional activities undertaken.