TCMP hosts Boat Handling training

The Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP) and the OECS Protected Areas and Associated Livelihoods (OPAAL) Project concluded a five-day training to certify mariners from four Southeastern Caribbean states as Boat Masters Grade 3.{{more}} The training was held in collaboration with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Nova Scotia Community College.

The overarching purpose of the training was to build capacity in protected area planning and management and in support of sustainable livelihoods for countries participating in the OPAAL project. The training enabled eighteen mariners from Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua, Mayreau, and Union Island to be trained and certified as Boat Masters Grade 3. Mariners who attended the training represent marine protected areas, water taxi operators, fishers, water sports/tour operators, and government fisheries departments.

The OPAAL project contracted the Nova Scotia Community College School of Fisheries to develop and conduct the training.

The training focused on both theoretical and practical elements of captaining small craft in accordance with the International Maritime Organization standards for Boat Master 3. Course topics covered boat handling, emergency situations, preventing collisions at sea, seamanship, passenger safety, weather, engineering knowledge, and prevention of pollution.

The training was held as part of the OPAAL project, a five year development project being executed by the OECS Secretariat through its Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU), in partnership with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) acting as an Implementing Agency of the GEF; and the Fond Français de l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) of the Government of France.

For more information about the Tobago Cays Marine Park and capacity building opportunities funded through the OPAAL project in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, please contact either Sharon Gulick or Lesroy Noel at 784-485-8191 or tcmp191@hotmail.com.