The Future of Our Inshore Fisheries conference in October 2019 was a major milestone in this Seafish-facilitated project that aims to drive change for the UK inshore fishing industry. The APPG Secretariat shares some impressions from the conference.
On 8-9 October 2019, over 150 fishing industry stakeholders gathered in London for the Future of Our Inshore Fisheries conference. The conference is a major milestone in the Future of Our Inshore Fisheries project, launched by Seafish in January 2019, aiming ‘to establish a blueprint for a collaborative management approach, which will ensure that both inshore fisheries and coastal communities are sustainable and thriving into the future.’
An international line-up of speakers addressed a packed-out room of fishers, scientists, regulators and government representatives, among others. Presentations were engaging and broad, covering topics including:
international examples of inshore fisheries management,
international case studies of fisheries co-management, and
how to ensure future access to fishing in a way that secures business certainty and protects the environment.
Following the presentations, facilitated discussions ensured all voices in the room got a chance to be heard and (anonymously) recorded, to inform the conference report.
The report, summarising the two-day discussion and presenting potential future directions of the project, will be published in the coming months. In the meantime, here are three initial impressions gleaned from attending the conference.
1. There is momentum for UK inshore fisheries management to change
The mood in the conference room was broadly positive, with many fishers expressing that they have never had an opportunity to speak about fisheries management in a forum with such wide-ranging and captive attendees.
Defining ‘inshore fisheries’ in the UK may be a pivotal first step in developing appropriate, equitable and sustainable fisheries management for the UK inshore fishing sector. However, discussion also explored whether a new definition was strictly necessary, if it would ultimately be employed differently across the home nations. A key issue for attendees was to ensure that whoever the inshore fisheries sector included, fisheries management should be locally appropriate to the varied inshore fishing regions of the UK.
Opinions varied, but all attendees agreed – it is time for the UK to change how inshore fisheries are defined and managed, and the momentum surrounding the conference and this project must be put to good use.
2. Fishers want to be included in fisheries management decision making
Fisheries co-management is the idea that fisheries resources should be jointly managed by the users who access the resource, and that all users should be involved during the decision making, implementation and enforcement processes. Co-management was a hot topic at the conference. After hearing how fisheries stakeholders contributed to inshore fisheries management in Denmark, Canada, the United States and New Zealand, fishers at the conference were inspired to speak out.
It was broadly acknowledged – by both fishers and regulators – that in the past, fishers have not been very effectively engaged in fisheries management decisions in the UK. It was felt that while UK regulators are well-versed in completing consultations, there is scope to explore the more immersive co-management approach of having fishers (or their representatives) involved in all stages of making a policy decision in much more detail. The message was clear: UK inshore fishers want a greater role in guiding management decisions for inshore fisheries in the UK.
While fishers agreed they would like to have a more ‘all inclusive’ role – through co-management – to influence their local fisheries management rules, many other innovative ideas were proposed for how fishers’ voices could have a bigger role in making these decisions. Some ideas tackled issues such as regulatory opening hours, which could improve safety at sea and may give fishers a proper chance to be home before dark.
The goodwill and momentum at the conference was clear, but attendees acknowledged the road to implementing co-management for UK inshore fisheries will be long and complicated. Negotiation and compromise – on both sides – will be key. Fisherman Wes Erikson drew on a poignant example of negotiation in his keynote speech: ‘we knew we had reached the right decision when no one in the room was left smiling.’
3. Future business certainty is an important consideration for inshore fishers
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a key consideration for inshore fishers is their future business certainty. For inshore fishers, this means that to develop business plans or look forward, they need to know there will be access to fish in the future. How this could be achieved was widely discussed, but some considerations for inshore fisheries businesses quickly became clear:
Sustainability of fish stocks is a key concern for all stakeholders. Maintaining economic security for inshore fishers depends on fish being in the sea, year-on-year, so managing access to stocks in a sustainable way is always essential.
Safety at sea. Access to fish can be a safety issue for inshore fishers, and this can be linked to spatial conflict caused by area closures, aquaculture, wind farms or the increased prevalence of higher-power ‘inshore’ vessels. Safety can also be an issue if certain grounds are only open (coincidentally) when there are challenging conditions at sea, as is often the case over winter.
Recruiting young people into the sector is essential for the future of individual businesses as well as the entire inshore fishing industry and numerous solutions were discussed around the room.
Management of access to fish, is a complicated issue and the Future Of Our Inshore Fisheries project hopes to help guide it. It was clear that everyone at the conference wants UK inshore fishers to be able to fish sustainably, safely and for long into the future.
Please note that the APPG on Fisheries Secretariat is independently managed, and does not speak on behalf of the government. If you wish to quote any of the APPG’s publications, please get in touch.