I S L A N D - B A S E D F I S H E R I E S M A N A G E M E N T P L A N ( I B F M P )

Since 1976, the CFMC has managed the fisheries in federal waters through fishery management plans implemented in the 1980s. These plans apply to all the islands in the US Caribbean: Puerto Rico, St. Thomas/St. John y St. Croix. However, since 2016, the CFMC started a process aimed to implement management plans focused on each island. This allows the recognition of the unique attributes of the fishery resources and the communities dependent on those resources The regulations were revised. Some of the regulations were removed, others were kept, and new ones were included according to the status of the fisheries in each island. IBFMPs were approved in September 2020 and will be implemented through ruling in 2021. The overarching goal of the IBFMPs is to ensure the continued health of fishery resources occurring in the EEZ surrounding each island and achieve sustainability, within the context of the unique biological, ecological, economic and cultural characteristics of those resources and the communities that are dependent upon them For more information on these plans, visit: https://caribbeanfmc.com/.

He has shown his leadership as President of the Fishing Village in Punta Pozuelo, Guayama, President of Fishers and Defenders of the Sea Federation (FEPDEMAR, in Spanish), and member of the DNER Fishing Advisory Board He fishes a great variety of species: yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, white mullet, sardines, corvina fish, porgy, snappers, queen triggerfish, white grunt, and red hind. Likewise, he has learned and he uses a wide range of fishing arts such as line, seine net (chinchorro), trolling, and pots. He learned how to fish with his father and his cousins, and many family members also fish: brothers, cousins, nephews. Miguel is conscious about the importance of nature conservation. He and his family grow part of their food and have lived on what land and sea provide. Miguel considers that fishing closures are a contribution that fishers do for themselves and for the sake of future generations He believes that fishers have a fundamental role in marine conservation. Miguel is married to Carmen Justiniano Pabón, who is the head of the kitchen in the fishing village.