Today, the Compete Caribbean+ team is on mission in Grenada — and yet, even as we gather around tables and walk the shores of another Caribbean island, her absence is deeply felt.
It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Dr. Shelly-Ann Cox — Chief Fisheries Officer of Barbados, champion of the Caribbean blue economy, and a true friend to the fisherfolk to whom she dedicated her life.
A Woman Who Led With Her Whole Heart
Dr. Cox was not simply a scientist or a public servant. She was an advocate in the truest sense — someone who carried the weight of other people’s livelihoods as if they were her own. She brought rigour and empathy to everything she touched, and she had a rare gift: the ability to make people feel that their work mattered, that their ocean mattered, and that they mattered.
The Soul of DigiFish
When we think about the work we did together through DigiFish, we think of Shelly-Ann. She was the soul of that initiative. From the very beginning, she believed — genuinely and deeply — that the right technology, in the right hands, could change lives. And she made sure it did.
With Compete Caribbean+’s support, she transformed DigiFish from an idea into something real and lasting. In its first phase, vessel-tracking devices were installed on small-scale fishing boats — not as a means of surveillance, but as a gift of knowledge. For the first time, communities could see their own patterns, better understand their waters, and make decisions grounded in data rather than guesswork.
The second phase went further. Smart Scales and electronic monitoring were introduced at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex — tools that brought fairness, traceability, and dignity to every transaction, from catch to consumer. They helped local fishers meet international standards and opened doors to markets that had once felt out of reach.
But Shelly-Ann never lost sight of what all of this was really for. The data, the technology, the systems — they were always in service of people: the fisher heading out before dawn, and the ocean that needed protecting for the next generation.
Her Reach Across the Region
What made Shelly-Ann’s work so powerful was that it did not stop at Barbados’ shores. The model she helped build through DigiFish was always envisioned as a blueprint for the wider Caribbean — proof that digital innovation and community-centred fisheries management could go hand in hand.
Today, as our team works in Grenada, we carry that vision with us. The conversations we are having, the partnerships we are building, and the futures we are striving to secure for fishing communities across these islands all bear the imprint of what she helped us understand.
A Legacy That Will Endure
We at Compete Caribbean+ extend our deepest condolences to her family, her colleagues at the Fisheries Division, and the fishing communities of Barbados, who were so fortunate to have her in their corner.
We remain committed to the sustainable blue economy she championed.
Rest in peace, Dr Shelly-Ann Cox. You lived with purpose, and your purpose lives on.