Conclusions of the workshop - Copenhagen (North Sea Fisheries)

There appears  to be a need for greater integration of all branches of science when considering the issues raised by exploitation of fishery resources.  It does not make sense to evaluate the impact on the ecosystem while ignoring socio-economic factors and, going forward, the integration and communication of these diverse disciplines needs more attention.

A.         RTD (Practical)

The fishing industry had a very definite view of its research agenda based on better data and more knowledge of very specific species. On a more general basis it was felt that the level of discards being reported was not always the true picture and called for investigation of the causes rather than the number of occurrences.  There was a call for more data collection by fishermen to improve the participation by the industry and the assessment of the impact of non-fishing activities, such as wind-farms, sand/gravel extraction and harbour works on fish stocks. 

There has already been a very substantial body of scientific work achieved in the region and there was a feeling that rather than change the content of the investigations the route forward should concentrate more on the communication of results. 

·  Every research project should have a communication element as an integral component and
·  Communication should be on-going during the life of the project rather than part of a final dissemination of results. 
·  Research projects should be structured to respond to findings and/or changes which may arise during its life-time and
·  Facilitate interaction between scientists, stakeholder, users and the public.
·  Inconclusive results should be dealt with as part of the project and risk management strategies developed to deal with
   uncertainty rather than the traditional precautionary approach

B.         Managerial/Commercial

In areas where there is a mixture of capture fisheries and aquaculture, the economic drivers are different and need to be looked at separately.  Capture fisheries have to be managed as an element of the ecosystem where the considerations are the effects of fishing activity, climate change etc. whereas aquaculture is managed with such factors as disease, genetic impact on wild species and sharing with other resource users as considerations.  There are different requirements for both sectors when designing suitable research but there is a need for a common language and the ability to communicate with the entire range of stakeholders.

Future research should not ignore the potential input of commercial enterprises in associated fishing and aquaculture industries.  They are likely to be end users of such research and could contribute considerable focus to practical issues.

C.          Social/Political

The integration of socio-economic, ecosystem and the more traditional scientific approach needs addressing.