FISH-ADAPT: Transforming climate resilience and sustainability in Saint Lucia's fisheries communities

The FISH-ADAPT project will address financial, market, technical, institutional and information barriers that hinder climate resilience in the fisheries and aquaculture sector of Saint Lucia. Climate change is significantly impacting fishery habitats and disrupting fishing operations in Saint Lucia and is projected to threaten the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and the local livelihoods of fishers. The climate change stressors on the marine environment of greatest significance to Saint Lucia’s fisheries and coastal sea moss farms are the accelerating rate of sea level rise (SLR), ocean acidification (OA), increasing sea surface temperature (SST), and increased frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. high winds, storms and hurricanes), and associated storm surges. Climate change also impacts inland aquaculture because of increased air temperature and changing precipitation patterns. The project reduces climate vulnerability by improving the safety of fishing operations, improving the design of aquaculture farming facilities incorporating Nature-based Solutions (NbS), and improving the resilience of boat ramps, jetties, storage buildings and processing sites against storms and sea level rise. The project will achieve this ambition by delivering four outcomes: transform and reorient fishing systems for safety in a changing climate, implement Nature-based Solutions and sustainable fishing practices to improve ecosystem health and fish stock sustainability in response to climatic changes, increase financial resilience and diversify incomes for fishing sector stakeholders, and strengthen institutional structures for participatory climate adaptation. GCF support through the Readiness programme was provided to develop the project.