[2] The shield initially consisted of two brunette raven-haired ladies, one clutching a palm branch on the left and one with clasped hands kneeling before an altar on the right.

[4] On 27 October 1969, seven years after the federation was dissolved, Saint Vincent became an Associated State,[1] and adopted the aforementioned blue ensign as its official flag.

[2][5] This consisted of a triband of blue, gold, and green separated by two thin white fimbriations, and the centre band charged with the country's coat of arms on a breadfruit leaf, which had been introduced to the island by William Bligh.

[2] After the New Democratic Party emerged victorious in the 1984 elections, new prime minister James Fitz-Allen Mitchell sought to have the flag redesigned.

The government permits this in order to increase revenue for the country,[12] and it offers many advantages for these ships, such as less expensive fees and lax rules regarding crew, safety, and the environment.

[12] Two ships flying the flag of Saint Vincent were found by the European Commission (EC) to have been on the blacklist of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.

[15] The EC identified Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as a non-cooperating country in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) on May 23, 2020, having warned them earlier through pre-identification in December 2014.

[14] By listing the country as non-cooperating, it meant that all fisheries products from Saint Vincent could no longer be legally imported into the European Union.