Following the success of a previous Fisheries Resource Education Programme (F-REP) event in November 2023, Fishing into the Future is reprising its industry-driven residential event this week.
This time it’s in Yorkshire, centred on shellfish species and their relevant Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs), and bringing together more than 60 delegates from across the worlds of fishing, science and policy.
FITF’s F-REP sessions are designed to build the architecture for successful co-management of fisheries in the UK, and to foster conditions for different fisheries stakeholders to work together effectively while drawing on each individual’s perspective and expertise,
Delegates gathered this week for three full days of sharing knowledge and hands-on activities mixed with evening socials, including an industry-science mixer bringing in local universities and tech companies.
The agenda ranges from catching to collecting data, into how the data feeds into decision-making – and how this is all underpinned by business, economics, social cohesion and effective leadership. The event is specifically designed to be hands-on, underpinned by engaging sessions, including a practical stock assessment activity and playing through the process of collective negotiations and decision-making, as well as encouraging discussions on associating, seafood markets and the skills and tips to getting involved in fisheries management.
The programme has been developed to lay the foundations for a co-managed approach to decision-making, aiming to support the new Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) that are outlined in the UK Fisheries Act 2020. These FMPs are in the process of being rolled out for fisheries across the UK. F-REP allows a diverse range of individuals who work in and around the same industry to build a mutual dialogue through face-to-face interactions, to come together, share knowledge and create connections, so that everyone can confidently engage in collaborative decision-making.
Among those participating are the planning team of Fishing into the Future’s Board of Trustees with Vice-Chair, Adrian Bartlett; Alexa Dayton from the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, as well as Jenny and Karl Price, a fishing family from Bridlington who run the Get a Life at Sea Campaign, supported by Mike Roach (NFFO), Beshlie Pool and Alan Steer from South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen, among others.
Also taking part are more than thirty fishermen and representatives of industry organisations and associations from across the East Coast of Yorkshire and Northumberland and further afield, including North Wales, Peterhead and from across the south coast, in addition to DEFRA, MMO IFCA and MCA representatives, and researchers from CEFAS and Hull, Newcastle and Heriot-Watt universities.
