Pulse of the Caribbean

#125 Caribbean News Round Up Episode 1 Week of October 13

• Pulse of the Caribbean

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Our report connects reef protection in Cayman, regional fisheries cooperation, maritime boundaries, trade plays, a sovereignty bid in BVI, and a Bahamian debate over SpaceX landings. We tie nature, markets, and governance to show how today’s choices shape tomorrow’s prosperity. Here are some of the stories making Caribbean headlines.

  • Reef fish decline in Cayman leads well-known photographer and conservationist calls for parrotfish protection
  • CRFM Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism–OECS MOU and UWI partnership on Blue Economy
  • Grenada’s push for trilateral maritime boundaries with Venezuela and St. Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Dominican Republic’s seeks deeper trade ties with China
  • Guyana’s call on business community to secure more UK markets
  • British Virgin Islands call on UN to support full self-government
  • Bahamas evaluates SpaceX Falcon 9 landings and risks 

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Send news releases to news@pulseofthecaribbean.com. For Pulse of the Caribbean marketplace feature opportunities email biz@pulseofthecaribbean.com.

SPEAKER_01:

This podcast is brought to you by Diamond Key Marina, Yospondai, British Virgin Island, home of Foxy's Taboo and Gateway to the Bubbly Pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. Welcome to the Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, Episode 1 for the week of October 13th. Here's a look at what's making Caribbean headlines. We still report today in the Cayman Islands. Well-known underwater photographer and conservationist Courtney Platt is advising the Cayman Islands community and visitors to stop eating reef fish before they disappear, especially the critically endangered parrot fish. Classic image by Platt have recorded the Cayman Islands marine ecology for almost four decades. In his interview with Cayman News Service, Platt says fishermen have often warned about unsustainable harvesting. He said, if we keep fishing, we will lose our coral reefs and world-famous beaches in the Cayman Islands in a few years. According to Platt, who began diving in the Cayman Islands in the early 1980s, there were lots of fish, but overfishing has caused a devastating decline that will never recover. He said the nation must change course. Snapper, barracuda, triggerfish, and grooper are also declining, but Cayman's beach replenishing parrot fish may be the most to be concerned. He wanted to publicize the low levels and make refishing consumption taboo. He urged others to stop using them and share the word. More catch restrictions are needed, but he wants to promote awareness so people avoid eating locally caught fish for the environment. He said, refish reduction impacts Cayman's tourism and environment. One option is the linefish, an invasive species that competes with Cayman's native fish for food and space, with the goals of causing the extinction of the invasive limefish from the Cayman Seas. In other news, on October 30, 2025, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism signed its first bilateral agreement with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. The 16th special meeting of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism Ministerial Council held in St. Kitts and Nevis as part of Caribbean Week of Averculture, an annual CARICOM Secretariat event, saw the signing. The agreement was finalized by an Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dr. Marcus Williams, Executive Director of the Caribbean Fisheries, Regional Fisheries Mechanism Secretariat, and Dr. Didicus Jules, OECS Director General. As eight OECS member states are also members of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, Dr. Williams stressed the relevance of this MOU in maintaining their historic corporation. These countries are Dominica, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Montserrat, Sinkitz and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. The MOU will codify and direct Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the OECS Corporation on fisheries related initiatives. Also in September, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism signed another MOU with the University of the West Indies, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the University of the West Indies five-year memorandum of understanding to be implemented via the Five Island campus in Antigua and Barbuda with the help of the Center of Excellence for Oceanography and the Blue Economy aims to foster an academically beneficial partnership. The PAC prioritizes Blue Economy Development, maritime spatial planning, climate change resistance, ecosystem sustainability, and resource mobilization. Our next stop is Grenada. Grenada wants a trilateral commission with Venezuela and St. Vincent and Grenadines to draw maritime boundaries. Nazim Burke, Grenada's oil and gas technical working group chairman, said Grenada has begun delineating its marine borders with Venezuela and St. Vincent and Grenadines. Grenada concluded the process with Trinidad and Tobago in 2012, but has never been clear on the line between Grenada and Venezuela and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. On October 9th, Berg, who serves as Minister for Energy from July 2008 to February 2013 under the National Democratic Congress Tillman Thomas administration, told a town hall meeting at the Trade Center that Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has submitted the trilateral proposal to the heads of government in each of the three countries. Burke also reported that the technical working group has been meeting with Trinidad and Tobago and other companies that have researched Grenada's oil and gas and have spatial vector data for the past six months. Now on to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MIREX, wants to improve bilateral economic relations with the People's Republic of China to benefit both nations. Following eight years of diplomatic relations, the Dominican Republic's government believes that economic engagement with the Asian nation will lead to shared development. MIREX Director of International Corporation, Carlos Hernandez, made the announcement while representing the executive branch at the trade exhibition of the People's Republic of China, an event in the Dominican Republic's capital that connects Chinese and Dominican Republic businesses. At the event, the institution's deputy director, Valdemar Penmetal, said this dynamicism reflects not only the competitiveness of the national offering, but also the importance of China as a key trading partner in continuing to promote the necessary trade diversification as defined in our national export promotion plan 2020 to 2023. Pro Dominicana, the Dominican Republic's financial development agency, said that the country sold$207.7 million to China from January to August 2025. In other news from Guyana, as Guyanese companies prepare to travel to London for the British Chamber of Commerce, Guyana's annual business forum and networking event, Britcamp Guyana next month, they are encouraged to look beyond partnerships and secure UK markets for their products and services. Dr. Peter Ramsaroup, Guyana's chief investment officer, made this charge at the press conference in Georgetown, Guyana on Friday, ahead of Britcamp's premier networking event, which will bring together over 350 influential Guyanese and UK business owners, investors, and decision makers in oil and gas, telecommunications, banking, information and communication technology, education, aviation, tourism, and finance. Ramsarou praised a chamber for connecting Guyana's business community to the UK at a time of plentiful investment prospects due to the country's rapid and unprecedented economic change. He stated that BRICCAM's engagement will allow Guyanese enterprises to collaborate beyond the UK. Next up, the British Virgin Islands Premier calls on the United Nations to strengthen its support for decolonization after this. For Pulse of the Caribbean podcast advertising or marketplace feature opportunities, email bizbiz at pulsofthecaribbean.com. Get your ads in front of our ever-expanding Caribbean and diaspora community. Contact us at bizbiz at pulsofthecaribbean.com. Engage in networking and advertising with Pulse of the Caribbean. This is the Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode one for the week of October 13th. Dr. Natalia Wheatley, Premier of the British Virgin Islands, has urged the United Nations to promote decolonization, stating that the territory is ready for complete self-government. During the UN General Assembly's Fort Committee, Dr. Wheatley praised a special committee on decolonization, C 24, for sending a mission to the British Virgin Islands in August 2024. He added that the mission's report showed that the British Virgin Islands is ready for a change of political status to achieve a full measure of self-government. The report also suggested self-determination education, full internal self-government, and an independent timeline. After SpaceX's Starship rocket exploded earlier this year, SpaceX officials addressed safety concerns from concern citizens last week in the Bahamas as they seek approval for future Falcon 9 rocket landings in the Bahamas. At a town hall meeting to discuss SpaceX proposal to land another Falcon 9 booster on a drone ship in the Eczema Sound, Vice President of SpaceX Starship Legal and Regulatory Sheila McCorkle acknowledged public concern but said the Falcon 9 rocket is reliable. After a launch from Boca Chica, Texas, a starship rocket broke apart on March 6th, spreading debris across the Bahamas and raised environmental concerns. Ragged and crooked islands had missile debris. The Bahamas government says SpaceX paid for the cleanup. SpaceX can land its Falcon 9 first stage booster on its drone ship in Bahamian seas under a deal it made with the government. February saw the first Falcon 9 first stage booster land in Eczema Sound. However, in April, SpaceX announced that 19 more landings have been postponed until the Bahamas Department of Environmental Planning and Protection approves the program's risk assessments. In a town hall meeting last week, SpaceX addressed concerns of New Providence and Eleuthra residents, both in person and virtually. This podcast has been brought to you by Diamond Key Marina, Yosmondike, British Virgin Islands, home of Foxy's Taboo and Gateway to the Bubbly Pool, a natural jacuzzi and hidden gem. Have news and information you'd like to share with us, send news releases to news at pulsofthecaribbean.com. This has been your Pulse of the Caribbean News Roundup, episode one for the week of October 13th. Here's a special greeting going out to our listeners in Suriname, Belize, Virginia, and Albania. Thanks for listening and do spread the word and share our podcast with others across the region and the diaspora. I'm Keisha Blyden. See you next time.

SPEAKER_02:

For more Caribbean news stories and information, visit us online at pulsofthecaribbean.com. If you found value in this podcast, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. And thank you in advance for choosing Pulse of the Caribbean Caribbean News Roundup as your source for Caribbean centered news.