Rapid Fisheries Sector Assessment - Three Bays National Park, Haiti

This comprehensive assessment examines the fisheries sector in Haiti's Three Bays National Park, revealing a critical situation of environmental degradation and overfishing. Haiti has lost most of its forests, causing massive erosion and siltation that damages coral reefs and marine habitats. The country faces severe food insecurity, importing over 50% of its food including 20,000 tons of fish annually.

The study documents that approximately 50,000 fishermen operate in 400 fishing communities along Haiti's 1,770-km coast, using subsistence-level artisanal methods with basic gear and small wooden boats. The Three Bays National Park contains 12 fisher associations among Haiti's total of 140 such organizations. Fish catches have declined dramatically over decades, with all 161 interviewed fishermen citing declining catches as their major concern.

The assessment identifies multiple constraints including lack of institutional support, outdated fishing laws from 1978, insufficient government resources, and destructive fishing practices. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture operates with minimal staff and resources, resulting in no effective management or conservation of marine resources. The report emphasizes that fishermen recognize the problems and support organized efforts to reverse the decline.

Recommendations focus on institutional support, strengthening fisher associations, protecting natural habitats, eliminating destructive fishing practices, developing sea farming, and improving value chains. The assessment was conducted as part of USAID's Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Program, which addresses sustainability challenges across four Caribbean seascapes.