The report considers the main resources of the region, their productivity, population dynamics and estimates of potential yield under several headings, namely, sharks, reef fish, coastal pelagics, menhaden, spiny lobster, crabs and molluscs. A description of the principal fisheries by region is followed by a summary of available information on the status of the stocks, including assessments already in the literature, and new assessments reported here for the first time.

This document assembles three reviews of the marine shrimp and groundfish fisheries of the Brazil-Guianas shelf (northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and eastern Venezuela) and one on environmental aspects of the area. Each report contains a number o recommendations for fisheries management, further research and international cooperation in data collection and assessments.

The Second Meeting of the Regional Fisheries Data and Statistics Working Group (FDS-WG) was convened online in three (3) sessions with the main session on 12–16 October 2020, extended session on 25–28 May 2021 and conclusion session on 10 March 2022. The Regional FDS-WG is a joint working group of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC), the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), and Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Central America (OSPESCA). The second meeting of the FDS-WG contributed to: • review the FDS-WG first meeting intersessional work and develop consensus and identify remaining work needed for technical session topics (vessel mapping, sub area and divisions, list of main and reference species, WECAFC-FIRMS stocks and fisheries inventory, Small-Scale Fisheries Matrix, and Data Collection Reference Framework and standards); • review country updates on national data collection systems, vessel registries, continuing challenges and needs; • identify, prioritize, and develop a criteria list of national countries capacity-building projects; • review the FDS-WG Terms of Reference; and • develop the FDS-WG2 Workplan for 2020–2022, including recommendations in preparation for the extended session, and initiate WG recommendations for the WECAFC Scientific Advisory Group (SAG).

This is the report of the First Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission (WECAFC) Preparatory Meeting for the Transformation into a Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) held in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 25 and 26 March 2019. Ce document est le rapport de la Première réunion préparatoire pour la transformation de la Commission des pêches pour l’Atlantique Centre-Ouest (COPACO) en une organisation regionale de gestion des pêches en une organisation regionale de gestion des pêches (ORGP), qui s’est tenue a Bridgetown (La Barbade) les 25 et 26 mars 2019. Este es el primer informe de la Primera reunión preparatoria de la Comisión de Pesca para el Atlántico Centro Occidental (COPACO) para la transformación en una organización regional de ordenación pesquera (OROP), celebrada en Bridgetown, Barbados, los días 25 y 26 de marzo de 2019.