Southernmost islands of the lesser Antilles chain; 11k from Venezuela (straits of the Gulf of Paria). It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest. Tobago is 30km northeast of Trinidad. The combined coastline of Trinidad and Tobago measures 704 km with a land to coastline ratio of 1:7.

The degradation of coastal and marine ecosystems (coral reefs, mangrove swamps, seagrass beds, beaches), mainly from anthropogenic impacts such as pollution has made them more vulnerable to impacts from climate change, and other emerging issues like impacts from invasive alien species (IAS) and Sargassum blooms. Within the context of the “ocean based economy” the imperative need to safeguard Trinidad and Tobago’s fisheries resources – a source of livelihood and nutrition for some of this country’s most marginalised groups and communities. Several species of commercially important fish have been found to be fully or overexploited. Fish and shell fish nursery habitats such as mangrove swamps and seagrass beds also need to be conserved and/ or restored to ensure food security.