Fisheries Legal Consultant, Makayla Williams, joined scholars and policymakers in Rio de Janeiro (23–25 March 2026) for an international conference on Euro–Latin America & Caribbean cooperation in climate, biodiversity, and the SDGs.
Among presentations covering vast topics from organised crime, rare earths and the EU’s policy interests in Latin America to migrant education, community development and governance gaps in the Caribbean, Ms. Williams gave her presentation under Panel 11: Multilateralism, environmental laws and the protection of biodiversity. The presentation, titled "Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in the Caribbean Region: A Shared Responsibility of States", educated listeners on the prevalence of IUU fishing in the region. She also made reccomendations on how collaboration among Caribbean states could combat its rise such as harmonizing licensing and vessel registries and building the capacity of Small Island Developing States to monitor their waters through dedicated funding streams.
When asked about her experience at the conference, she had this to say:
“I enjoyed meeting the delegates from the Caribbean and Latin America. It was eye-opening learning about the Climate Change responses across the different countries and the research being conducted to addresss the climate crisis
Thank you to UWI Cave Hill for the research grant for attending the conference."