Newton Eristhee is a Caribbean citizen with intimate knowledge of the unique socioeconomic and political climate in the Eastern Caribbean.  Newton’s MSc degree from the University of the West Indies is in Marine resource and Environmental management.  He has more than 15 years’ experience in the management of coral reefs and artisanal fisheries across the Caribbean, from the Grenadines to as far North as the British Virgin Islands and Jamaica.  He has facilitated and participated in the implementation of numerous regional fisheries, conservation and marine protected area initiatives in the Caribbean.

As the manager of the Soufriere Marine Management Association in St. Lucia, he successfully implemented innovative sustainable financing mechanisms for the marine park and developed closer partnerships between the private sector and the local community.

More recently Newton’s work has focused on Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and during the past four years he played in critical part in the implementation of the Caribbean fish Sanctuary Partnership initiative (C-FISH) in Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His passion is for working with communities, enhancing livelihoods, strengthening cooperatives and building strategic partnerships with governments and the private sector.  Newton conceptualised and developed the CARICOM Vocational Qualification (CVQ) in Sustainable Seamoss Production that allows artisanal seamoss farmers to gain an internationally-recognised qualification at the level of an associate degree.