The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in cooperation with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) joined forces to launch a regional project titled "Seizing the trade and business potential of Blue BioTrade products for promoting sustainable livelihoods and conservation of marine diversity in selected OECS countries (Blue BioTrade project)" in October 2020. In line with the implementation of SDG14  (Life below water) and 12 (Sustainable production and consumption), the project aims to strengthen capacities of small-scale coastal operators from Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to produce and trade queen conch (CITES Appendix II-listed species) products in domestic, regional and international markets under UNCTAD’s Blue BioTrade environmental, social and economic sustainability guidelines (BioTrade Principles and Criteria), pursuant to CITES requirements. 

As a part of this project, a draft case study of the queen conch value chain has been produced* for Saint Lucia titled, “Blue BioTrade in Saint Lucia: Developing value for the sustainable trade and production of queen conch in the Caribbean”. To present and validate the preliminary findings and proposed strategic recommendations from this study, the Department of Fisheries of Saint Lucia, with the support of UNCTAD, CITES, and the OECS, are inviting stakeholders across the industry to participate in an open consultation meeting. This consultation will also be used to prioritise draft recommendations developed under this report for further development and action under the Regional Blue BioTrade Action plan. 

Due to current COVID-19 travel restrictions, this event will be held in hybrid format -  the in-person attendees will be hosted by the Department of Fisheries of Saint Lucia and the remote ones via Zoom.

*This Saint Lucia case study is the first of three (country case studies) to be produced under the Blue BioTrade Project, together with forthcoming studies of queen conch production in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. These case studies, in addition to a regional workshop, will contribute towards a regional Blue BioTrade Action Plan in 2022. The Blue BioTrade project is co-funded by the OECS and the European Union under the Regional Integration Through Growth Harmonisation and Technology (RIGHT) project.