nThe Caribbean country of Cuba is located in the eastern coast of the continent of North America. The island country is bordered on the north by Florida and the United States, on the east by Haiti, and on the south by Jamaica. For centuries, Cuba was inhabited by indigenous Taíno cultures before being colonized by Spain in the 16th century. The island was ceded to France in 1763, to the United States in 1898 following a Spanish-American War, and became an independent republic in 1902. DSWD Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Dr. Francisco Velez recently attended workshop-workshop organized jointly by Foundation for Agrarian Reform (FAR), BFAR and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on improved scientific monitoring of fisheries resources off northern provinces as part of program aimed at rebuilding fishery resources after years of overfishing.