by Linda Straker
- Regulations published in 5 December edition of Government Gazette
- Regulations mandate releasing and reporting of certain mammals caught or seen in Grenada’s marine space
- Ban of fish and fish products from Grenada to USA as of 1 January 2026
A maximum fine of EC$100,000 is the penalty for fishermen and others in the fishing sector who violate the new fisheries regulations, which were published in the 5 December edition of the Government Gazette.
Approximately 3 weeks after, Members of both the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament approved an amendment to the Fisheries Act, the new regulations that will become the working guidelines for the fishing industry have been published. The regulations will not only carry heavy fines, but also mandate the release and reporting of certain mammals caught or seen in Grenada’s marine space.
Grenada’s decision to amend its Fisheries Act and establish the new regulations will make the island compliant with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act so that it will avert a 1 January 2026 ban of fish and fish products from Grenada to the USA.
The ban was announced in August 2025, and since then, the Government has been racing to amend the relevant policy, law or regulation that will avert the ban for the industry, which brings in revenue of more than EC$50 million annually to the island.
Labelled as SRO 43 of 2025, besides a maximum fine of EC$100,000 for various offenses, the Fisheries (Marine Mammals) Regulations also requires that a marine mammal that has been caught accidentally or entangled while a fishing vessel is fishing or farming or preparing to fish or farm a species of fish other than a marine mammal, shall be returned to the fishery waters as soon as possible after discovery; and as far as is possible, promptly freed in a manner that causes the least amount of stress or harm to the marine mammal.
“When requested to do so by the master or operator of a fishing vessel, a member of a fishing vessel shall assist in the release of a marine mammal accidentally caught or entangled unless he or she fears for his or her personal safety,” said the regulations. A person who fails to comply with the request to set the mammal free commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine and or imprisonment or both fine and imprisonment together.
The list of marine mammals includes:
- Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises):
- Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
- Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
- Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
- Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
- Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
- Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)
- False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
- Pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps)
- Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
- Sirenians – West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)
- Pinnipeds (seals)
“If a marine mammal cannot be identified, the fishing vessel shall record and photograph the mammal; report as unidentified species with descriptive notes and submit materials to the Fisheries Division for scientific verification,” the regulations instruct.
Despite the heavy fines for violating the fisheries regulations, there are exemptions. According to the regulations, “It is not a contravention of these Regulations to take or harass a marine mammal if the taking or harassing is authorised by the Minister for the purposes of research into fisheries under section 24 of the Act.
“It will also not be a contravention of these Regulations to take a marine mammal if the taking is imminently necessary in self-defence to save the life of a person in immediate danger nor it is imminently necessary to avoid serious injury, additional injury, or death to a marine mammal entangled in fishing gear or debris.”
The regulations state that reasonable care should be taken to ensure the safe release of the marine mammal, taking into consideration the equipment, expertise and conditions at hand; and reasonable care is taken to prevent further injury to the marine mammal. The master or operator of a fishing vessel shall report a taking or harassment to the Chief Fisheries Officer within 48 hours, and the Chief Fisheries Officer may seize and dispose of any carcass.
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