The Smart Seas Toolkit (SST) for Disaster Resilience (“Smart Seas”) Project is a joint initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), supported by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

It sets out to increase the resilience and ultimately preserve the lives of Caribbean small-scale fishers (SSF) through information and communications technologies (ICTs), with emphasis on the enabling environment. Its three-dimensional scope covers:

1. Geographic area: Trinidad and Tobago’s Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), which covers Barbados, Grenada as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines
2. Problem space: maritime communication
3. Beneficiary sector: fisheries
   

Furthermore, the project aims to facilitate the establishment of an international community to tackle the ongoing challenge of inaccessible communications at sea, through technological, service and market innovations. Subsequent phases of the Smart Seas project will introduce a certification program for marine very high frequency (VHF) radio- operation and increase SSF capacity. Later phases will also feature the utilization of cutting-edge communication technologies to close data gaps in the maritime sector that are essential for boosting resilience across the mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery phases of the disaster risk management cycle.

The Smart Seas Project has three main outputs:

​​Gap Analysis Conducting a Gap Analysis of the Maritime Communications Enabling Environment, from which gap-filling recommendations will be produced under consultation with key stakeholders within the region Learn more

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​Smart Seas Toolkit Developing an online toolkit (Smart Seas Toolkit), to strengthen the maritime communications enabling environment Learn more

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​Priorities for Accessible Comms@Sea for SSF Co-developing, with agents and agencies from an international community, an Agenda for Accessible Communications @ Sea Solutions for Small-scale Fishers (Agenda Report)​ Learn more

Outcomes

Impacts

Accomplishments to Date

• Engaged key agencies within the maritime comms ecosystem, on matters related to filling gaps in UN compliance, spectrum management, licensing, capacity building, etc.
• Developed the Smart Seas Toolkit, to support agencies within the maritime communications ecosystem
• Trained agencies on the Smart Seas Toolkit