The new North Sea Passive Fisheries Foundation has become a legal entity, aiming represent the Dutch passive fishing sector and ensure a greater level of connection, both within the fishing sector and with government, NGOs and other parties involved.
‘We focus on fishing in wind farms, for which work is currently being done to open up to passive fishing,’ a representative of the new foundation commented, describing the initiative as ‘a new course, a breath of fresh air.’
The Foundation expects to organise international exchanges between governments, NGOs and fishermen, and invite speakers to share knowledge and experiences.
‘We are looking at a broader perspective for the passive fishing sector in the North Sea. This can vary from a Passive Fishing Master Plan to a pot rental concept, to encourage fishermen to work with a broader and future-proof business model. We are also investigating existing market concepts to further develop and mutually strengthen the small-scale fleet,’ the foundation states.
All these developments are designed to contribute to working systematically, over five to ten years, towards a stable and circular model for passive fishing. This is to be a model that focuses on small-scale, high-quality products from the North Sea, applying innovation in both fishing methods and processing.
‘In addition, we want to offer support through training and international programmes,’ the foundation states. ‘
‘This is whether it’s an exchange in Brussels, a working visit at sea in England, for example, around innovations such as Disco scallops, or Dutch developments such as sole pots. We focus on small-scale fishers whom we want to support and guide in the transition to passive fishing methods in the North Sea.’
The board, which will be presented next week, will meet for the first time in April to jointly develop the strategy and meet the new director, Stefan Tijsen, an innovative former fisherman with years of experience in the passive fishing industry. He has built a successful innovation company that operates internationally and works on a variety of leading developments in fisheries and aquaculture. He represents the passive fishing sector in the working group committed to enabling passive fishing activities within wind farms.
