Cuba lies just 90 miles from the tip of Florida. The two areas share a large expanse of ocean – and the huge array of biodiversity contained within it. That’s why EDF staffers are in Cuba this week to discuss ways to eliminate overfishing, protect coral reefs, conserve coastal areas, and tap potential ocean energy in our shared backyard.
Already, in September, EDF hosted a Cuban delegation in a move towards creating greater scientific exchange between the two countries. “The U.S. and Cuba share many ecological resources, but have different ways of managing them,” says EDF’s Dan Whittle. “Fishing, coastal development, and offshore oil and gas exploration in Cuba can have impacts in the U.S., and vice-versa. The sooner we work together to manage shared resources and find solutions to common problems, the sooner we’ll see benefits for the people, the environment and the economy in both countries.”
We’ll have a follow up post to report on the trip when our scientists return.
For the past 10 years 
What are the results of all this cooperation? The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council heard fishermen’s request to develop a golden crab catch shares program and are tasking the industry with taking the first crack at the design. Golden crab fishermen in return are looking to develop a collaborative process by which they can work together, with us, and Kate Quigley, the South Atlantic Council staff economist to craft a catch shares program that will meet their needs and continue the legacy of conservation and stewardship they’ve established. I look forward to continuing our work with the golden crab industry and am glad I’ve played a part in this lesson of catch shares cooperation.
The U.S. and Cuba share many ecological resources, but the countries have different ways of managing them. Drilling is just one important issue out of many and is covered well in Nick Miroff’s Washington Post article, 
Several times a year, EDF takes a delegation of fishermen, policy makers and other leaders in the ocean conservation community and fisheries industry to British Columbia to see, first hand, an effective catch shares program at work. Last week, Larry Epstein, Ayelet Hines, Michael Clayton, and Nicanor Requena of the EDF Oceans program hosted a delegation of fisheries stakeholders from Belize on an international exchange to visit the B.C. groundfish fishery.
Some of the fisheries managed by catch shares in the B.C. groundfish fishery have increased in value ten-fold as a result of healthier and improved fish stocks and habitat. During the conversations among B.C. and Belizean government managers, fishermen, and conservationists, the delegation learned how the B.C. catch share evolved and discussed lessons learned. In addition, the delegation visited the catch shares monitoring facility and observed the process of assessing and recording the catch at a dockside offload site.