Opportunities for Change.
A new report by the New Economics Foundations considers the development of Fisheries Management Plans and the opportunities to support inshore fisheries.
The Association of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (AIFCA) commissioned the New Economic Foundation to conduct independent research into wild capture shellfisheries in the context of the concept of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs). The authors of the report entitled ‘Towards Regional Inshore Fisheries Management Plans – Opportunities for Change’, make specific recommendations as to how future management should be designed and resourced. The research was, in part, supported by a grant from The Fishmongers Company.
Fisheries Management Plans are a central pillar of the Fisheries Act. The Government is currently consulting on a Draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The JFS sets out the overall purpose of Fisheries Management Plans, including their link to the fisheries objectives and the wider fisheries framework set out in the Act, together with the plans the fisheries policy authorities will publish.
The authors of the research assess the social, economic and ecological contribution of principal bivalve and crustacean inshore fisheries in England, providing proposals for how they are grouped and prioritised within the new FMP frameworks.
The AIFCA is developing its response to the draft Joint Fisheries Statement. Whilst the views of the authors of the report are independent of both the AIFCA and the Fishmongers Company, the findings of the independent research will be considered and help inform the AIFCA response to the JFS consultation.
The Report can be accessed HERE and the closing date for comments on the Draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) is 12 April 2022