Haiti’s coastal fishing communities, which provide livelihoods for tens of thousands of families and an important source of protein for the broader population, were facing a convergence of crises in 2019 that threatened both the sustainability of the fishery and the economic survival of fishing households. The political and economic turmoil of the year added new pressures to challenges that had been building for years.
Overfishing of Haiti’s coastal waters had reduced fish stocks significantly from historical levels, forcing fishermen to travel further from shore to find adequate catches. Without access to better boats, equipment, or cold storage, Haitian fishermen were at a severe disadvantage compared to the motorized boats from neighboring countries that fished the same waters. The result was declining catches and declining incomes for households that had few alternative livelihoods.
The crisis of 2019 disrupted fish marketing networks that connected coastal communities to urban consumers. Road blockades during protest periods prevented fish from reaching Port-au-Prince markets, leading to spoilage losses that fishing families could ill afford. The depreciation of the gourde had also raised the cost of fuel for motorized boats, squeezing margins further.
Coastal communities also reported increased illegal fishing by vessels from other countries in Haitian waters, exploiting the weakness of Haiti’s maritime enforcement capacity to extract resources that should have been available to Haitian fishermen. Marine conservation organizations called for strengthened coastal management and support for sustainable fishing practices.