Especially as it has come within weeks of next month’s 24th regular annual summit of CARICOM Heads of Government in Jamaica at which our leaders have promised to deepen levels of co-operation.

What has been reported as proposals advanced by Trinidad and Tobago to a delegation from Barbados, headed by Sir Harold St John, stand in sharp contrast to the spirit of discussions held in Port-of-Spain last February during the 14th Inter-Session Meeting of CARICOM leaders.

Underlying those discussions, as we understand it, was a visionary proposal, initiated by the Owen Arthur administration, with strong support from Guyana, for development of a regional fisheries policy to the satisfaction of all signatory member states of CARICOM.

St Vincent and the Grenadines which, like Trinidad and Tobago, has expressed concerns of its own to Barbados over fishing rights, as well as Suriname, are expected to be among partner states in the proposed regional fisheries pact.

President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, was openly supportive of this regional fisheries policy initiative at the Port-of-Spain meeting. He stressed then that Guyana has had to exercise “tremendous restraint” over the years in the exploitation of its marine resources in the absence of mutually satisfactory bilateral or multilateral agreements.

One of the specific proposals of the Barbados paper for co-operation in a regional policy on fisheries, was for the CARICOM Secretariat to be mandated to undertake the “necessary research” for a common policy on “exploitation and conservation of fisheries resources”.

A major recommendation called for the creation of a single Maritime Authority to manage the fisheries resources, co-operate in research and provide technical support for ongoing fisheries projects in the region.

What is referred to as the Barbados Fisheries Paper emerged against the backdrop of sentiments earlier expressed, at various periods, by Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana. It would, therefore, be a tragic waste of time should current disagreements between Port-of-Spain and Bridgetown, be allowed to frustrate the initiative of the February meeting of CARICOM leaders for a regional fisheries policy.