Moving Toward Sustainable Shorebird Hunting in the Caribbean and Northern South America
Shorebird hunting by European colonists has a long history in the Caribbean and northern South America. Although modern hunting pressure on shorebirds throughout the Western Atlantic Flyway (hereafter, Flyway) is incompletely known, annual harvest has emerged as a potential population-level constraint for some species or populations. In the Flyway, shorebirds are most often harvested for cultural-recreational and subsistence uses.
A concerted effort to address the sustainability of shorebird harvest began in 2011, when partners in BirdsCaribbean developed a SurveyMonkey® questionnaire on shorebird hunting that was distributed to members throughout the Caribbean. In September 2011, two satellite-tagged Whimbrels were shot in Guadeloupe, and their story of navigating a hurricane only to meet their demise after reaching landfall catalyzed action in the Caribbean. This incident and subsequent attention prompted the formation of the Harvest Working Group, under the umbrella of the developing Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative (AFSI), with the purpose of collectively addressing the sustainability of shorebird hunting. By 2016, the Harvest Working Group had developed A Plan to Address the Sustainability of Shorebird Harvest in the Western Atlantic Flyway, as a step-down set of objectives from the AFSI Business Plan. The goal of the plan is to achieve a sustainable shorebird harvest, while meeting the cultural and subsistence needs of people who use the shorebird resource.
Shorebird Harvest Working Group Action Plan, 2020–2025
Shorebird Hunting Workshop Summary, Guadeloupe – July 2019
Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Sustainable Harvest Plan – May 2016
Shorebird Harvest Working Group Progress Report, 2011–2017
Shorebird Hunting Policy Changes, 2012–2017
Sustainable Harvest of Migratory Shorebirds Workshop Report – March 2016
Migratory Shorebirds in Barbados: Hunting, Management and Conservation – May 2014