Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI)

The GCFI is a non-profit organization that works throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region.  GCFI has worked for over 2 decades on developing coral-reef marine protected areas networks in the Caribbean and has developed the capacity of MPAs and their managers. In 2004, GCFI partnered with UNEP Cartagena Convention at the White Water to Blue Water partnership conference to help relaunch the Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Managers Network and Forum (CaMPAM).  Subsequently, GCFI, partnered with NOAA to develop MPAConnect, a regional MPA network, built on, and based upon, the self-identified needs of the MPA managers themselves. Based on these self-evaluations, the MPAConnect building activities focus on sustainable financing, coral reef ecosystem resource monitoring, development of sustainable fisheries approaches, effective communication within and among stakeholders, MPA management plan development, and other areas of focus. Building off this initiative, with funding from UNEP, GCFI published a document on best practices related to the management and control of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) in the Caribbean region in 2021. 

GCFI currently serves as co-host of the Caribbean Node for the Global Partnership on Marine Litter in association with UNEP’s Caribbean Environment Programme.  The Node is dedicated to reducing the abundance and impacts of marine litter on society and ecosystems by sharing best practices and case studies, facilitating discussions on barriers and solutions and updating key actors on state of knowledge of technical marine litter issues.

In 2020, GCFI published a report entitled Science and Research Serving Effective Ocean Governance in the Wider Caribbean Region. This report detailed the research priorities at the nexus of governance and science by examining three regional fisheries, healthy ecosystems, and reduction of effects of pollution.  There is a heavy emphasis on research priorities focusing on coral-reef ecosystems including research needed for making decisions based on science and effective communication.

In addition to these targeted activities, GCFI hosts an annual meeting in the region with technical sessions and activities focused on exchanging information on the science, economics, and management of marine resources in the region. A record of each meeting from 1948 to present has been published in the annual Proceedings.

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