The Netherlands have quite a number of small fishing communities, especially in the northern part along the coast of the Wadden Sea which is directly connected to the North Sea. A row of islands forms the border between the North Sea and the Wadden Sea which makes the latter fairly attractive for fishing when stormy winds prevent boats from entering the North Sea.

Erik Rotgans (32) is a skipper on the 19 metre long shrimp trawler WR-54 ‘Cornelis Nan’. Brown shrimps (Crangon crangon) are the target species. The 49 Gross Tonnage (GT) trawler is fitted out with two shrimp beam trawls. Fishing on brown shrimps is not easy since the catches show huge fluctuations every year. According to scientists, it is difficult to carry out research on the size of the stock and biomass. Therefore, it is difficult to provide advice. That is also the reason why there is no quota. One month the catches can be very poor and within a couple of days fishermen can be faced with an explosion of brown shrimp. It is not possible to estimate the size of these crustaceans.

Erik lives in a small, traditional fishing community called Den Oever which is situated on the former island of Wieringen. Before the fishing boats from Wieringen enter the North Sea they first have to pass through the shallow Wadden Sea.

As most of the fishermen from Wieringen, Erik is member of a fishing family. His great grandfather used to fish with a wooden flat bottomed boat, depending on the wind and the tide. This was not always easy since in the Wadden Sea strong tides were always running.

Erik became a fisherman when he was 18 years old after getting his diploma in the fisheries college in Den Helder. He loves his job, stating: “It is a privilege to work at sea. The suspense you feel when the cod end is hanging above the deck, it is always a surprise. Of course you always have expectations but still it is unpredictable most of the time”. According to Erik it is fascinating to see what the sea will provide every time. “There is so much life at sea and catches are not always the same. The compilation of the catch varies every day and sometimes depends on the location or the weather. The size of the catch varies also every time. Everything in the cod end is alive, shrimps, worms, whelks, fish, crabs and different type of starfish.”

On board the WR-54, the 2-men crew is responsible for processing the shrimp. The boat is equipped with modern grading machines in order to separate the shrimp from the rest of the catch. After grading, the shrimp will be cooked straight away. The shrimp are becoming red and at that moment they are ready for eating, you only have to peel them.

After cooking, the shrimp will be packed in plastic bags and stored in the hold in order to keep them fresh. Depending on the size of the catches, Erik lands the shrimp twice a week in Den Oever. The port of Den Oever has direct access to the Wadden Sea and it is more or less the capital of the former island of Wieringen. It is famous because of the top quality landings of shrimp and nephrops. The fleet of Wieringen consists of approximately 30 shrimp trawlers and more than 10 multi riggers for nephrops. On top of this, there are also small boats called Euro beamers, whole year round twin-riggers for flatfish and nephrops and fresh water fishing boats.

The Dutch beam trawl fleet counts less than 65 vessels. In less than two decades the size of this fleet has shrunk significantly. In the southwest part of The Netherlands there are still some small fishing ports from where every Monday morning a number of beam trawlers are heading to the fishing grounds in the southern part of the North Sea which is known by very strong tidal currents.

The fishing port of Vlissingen is located on the south coast of a former island as it was a delta area many years ago. Beam trawlers from Vlissingen and the neighbour fishing village Arnemuiden are using that port for landing their flat fish catches. One of the beamers is the ARM-22 ‘Klaas-Adriana’, built in 1993 and with an overall length of 44 metres. The skipper on this beamer is Jan Marijs.

Jan Marijs is, as most fishermen in The Netherlands, member of a traditional fishing family. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all fishermen. The father of Jan launched this vessel and later Jan Marijs replaced him when his dad retired.

The vessel makes fishing trips for a period of three to four days. In summer months, the ‘Klaas-Adriana’ lands the catches on Friday morning. Sometimes they already arrive to port on Thursday evening. During winter months, when fishing can be sometimes fairly good, skipper Jan Marijs opts for a 3-day trip. That means landing on Thursday morning. During the weekends they never fish. Fortunately the fishing grounds are not that far away. The grounds where the beamer normally fish are located between the Belgian, Dutch and British coast.

As the beamer used to fish with heavy duty gear such as tickler chains and iron shoes the fuel consumption was quite high. When the price of fuel started to increase Jan Marijs decided to remove the heavy parts of the fish gear and to reduce the speed during fishing. Over the past few years he and his brothers, three brothers are crew members, introduced the pulse technology onboard. From that moment the heavy duty gear was history and the fuel consumption decreased while the catches remain on the same level.

At the start of 2015 Jan Marijs signed in for the trawl net innovation project. The aim of the project is to reduce the by-catches of undersized and juvenile fish, especially flat fish. By putting a selective panel in the cod-end, including an escape panel on the top side of the cod-end, Jan and his crew are checking the impact continuously. Sometimes a researcher joins them in order to take samples and gather data. Skipper Marijs realises that the discard ban will force the fishermen to fish as selective as possible. “Although we will not be able to get a one hundred percent reduction on discards it is still worthwhile to figure out if our way of fishing is sustainable and acceptable. Of course the amount of undersized flat fish can be reduced to a certain level, but here in the southern North Sea it is almost impossible to avoid smaller flat fish. This area is characterised by the presence of juvenile sole, dab and plaice. Bigger meshes means losing a lot of sizable fish“, says skipper Marijs.Nevertheless he will continue with the trawl net innovation project because the ‘cleaner’ the cod-end is, the less work they have to do separating marketable fish from undersized fish.

Skipper Jan Marijs also mentions the change from traditional beam trawling to pulse trawling. Marijs: “The advantages of using pulse technology are great. The main engine consumes less fuel, therefore the emission has dropped, and the percentage of benthos, such as sea stars, worms, whelks, sea snails caught have also dropped in numbers too. So by introducing the electric technology we already made a lot of progress in terms of responsible fishing“. Moreover the pulse technology gear causes fewer disturbance to the seabed comparing with the traditional beam trawl method. In 2014 a French colleague, the owner of a gill netter from Dunkirk, joined the crew onboard the ‘Klaas-Adriana’. Skipper Marijs invited him in order to show him that everything in the cod-end is alive. The French fisherman was surprised. He could not believe his eyes. For the Dutch beam trawl fleet electric pulse technology is a major step towards responsible fishing.

Gijs Duijndam lives in the old Dutch fishing village Katwijk. He raised up in a real salty climate. He is member of a fishing family. His father, uncles and older nephews used to be fishermen on small herring drifters, pelagic freezer trawlers and beam trawlers. During that time the whole family was depending on fishing. Grandfather and great-grandfather were also fishermen. They used to fish on sailing smacks and later herring drifters. In those days his grandfather was first mate on the biggest steam trawler (side winder called ‘Vios’) of Ymuiden, the most important fishing port of The Netherlands. Nowadays just two nephews from Gijs are working on pelagic freezer trawlers.

At the age of eight Gijs joined his father during school holidays on a pelagic trawler. Later his father found employment on beam trawlers on which Gijs also made some holiday trips. During those trips he got infected by the fisheries virus. After finishing his primary school he decided to go to the local fishing college where he thrived. For more than twenty years, Gijs has been first mate onboard the pelagic freezer trawler ‘Carolien’ which is owned by trawler company Cornelis Vrolijk BV based in Ymuiden. With a crew of 48 fishermen this freezer trawler is fishing pelagic species such as herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and smelt. The 125 metres long ‘Carolien’ operates in different fishing grounds, i.e. around the British isles, the northern part of the north east Atlantic and the Gulf of Biscay. “It all depends where the fish is and if quota are available“, says Gijs. The duration of the trips of the freezer trawler ‘Cafrolien’ varies between fifteen days and five weeks. It depends on the distance to the fishing grounds and the catchability of the target species.

The first mate of the freezer trawler ‘Carolien’ is familiar with pelagic trawl net concepts. The ‘Carolien’ is fully equipped for this type of fishing. “Since about three years we are focussed on collecting different data of the species we are catching. We use cameras in the trawl net in order to get an impression of the fish behaviour. We use escape panels in the net. We want to get rid of juvenile fish and species which are commercially not worth catching. So far, we have made quite some progress. Every time we notice improvements after correcting the position of the panel“, says Gijs Duijndam. The ‘Carolien’ is involved in a number of projects which are financed by the EU and the Dutch government. It all has to do with reducing the amount of by-catch.

According to the first mate of the ‘Carolien’ they sometimes have to deal with a mixed fisheries, while mackerel is a target species. Shoals of mackerel and horse mackerel are swimming all together. In order to avoid by-catches of horse mackerel when fishing mackerel, the captain and the mates are using advanced sonar technology. In general the by-catch rate of unwanted species in pelagic trawl fishing is very low. In most cases less than 5 %. Therefore it is a clean fishery.

Gijs appreciates and is proud about the fact that a part of the Dutch pelagic trawl fleet is involved in gathering fish stocks data. Scientists from the national research institute IMARES are joining the crew of the freezer trawlers on a regular basis. They are taking samples and collecting different data in order to get a more precise and reliable picture of the size and the health of the pelagic fish stocks.

Although the Dutch freezer trawlers do not catch any flatfish at all the favourite meal of Gijs onboard is pan fried Dover sole with mustard sauce. In between the cook of the ‘Carolien’ often delivers meals with house smoked herring and mackerel. There is a special smoke house (a wooden barrel) behind the wheelhouse of the freezer trawler.

The overall responsibility of regulating and preserving the abundance of the life that teems within these seas, falls to the now decades-old Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), a leviathan of a management system, that although recently reformed, still incurs considerable rancour, from those who seek to operate profitably and sustainably within its often challenging remits.

Sustainability is an oft-used word and one that does not always reflect its true meaning. In terms of the management of fisheries, it not only refers to the state of the populations of commercially caught fish, but also to the economic viability and wellbeing of the communities intrinsic to their production and sale.

Historically, the management of fish stocks via the CFP has been a largely cumbersome and prescriptive “top-down” approach with little recourse to local level interpretation. Back in the 1980’s with maximum fishing effort at its peak, the emphasis, was solely on output with the inevitable consequence, that fish stocks of the more commercially valuable and popular species started to come under increasing pressure, their productive and reproductive “biomass” in danger of dwindling to unsustainable and dangerous levels.

Accordingly, the problems created by fishing effort in excess of capacity were met by a response. Quotas and catch limits were instigated, decommissioning incentives made available, and the less viable and more inefficient vessels encouraged to either embrace the new regime and improve or to quit the industry and make way for more efficient, modern and innovative practice. Fishermen, ever resourceful and ultimately concerned that their livelihoods now hung potentially and precariously in the balance, stepped up swiftly to the challenge.

The resultant reduction in fishing “effort” over the last two decades has therefore manifested itself in very positive and tangible ways:

Firstly it has led to a mini industrial revolution in terms of fishing practice. Fuel efficient engines for vessels, state-of-the-art fish finding technology, net and mesh innovation, improved safety and training and real-time data recording have ensured that not only do vessels throughout the EU operate under conditions of increased efficiency but in an environment conducive to best practice. And it continues, with fisherman of all classes and sectors, constantly responding to the bureaucratic challenges they face, in typically proactive form, designing and trialling new types of gear, and continually seeking to improve on operational efficiency, whilst keeping an ever mindful watch on the welfare of their crews, the investment in which, carries equal importance to that of net function and navigational science.

Secondly, it has resulted in probably the best outcome of all: that of fish stock recovery and populations of the traditional commercial species (Cod, Haddock and Plaice, Herring and Mackerel) to name but a few, suddenly becoming more visible and available in biomass to fishermen and edging back towards their Maximum Sustainable Yield (the measure of sustainability), from only two species in 2003 to 36 in 2015. Exciting news indeed for an industry that could have so easily have had the tables turned and found itself in the unenviable position of a sharp economic decline, from which there would have been little chance of recovery.

Unfortunately, with the initial demise of once bountiful fish populations, the apportion of blame, was an inevitable consequence of the inertia and momentum built up over the preceding years of maximum fishing effort. Fishermen in all sectors of the EU suddenly found themselves in the firing line of a sustained campaign of increasingly inaccurate and conflicting information, which although erroneous in content and biased in approach, nonetheless fostered a groundswell of public opinion that not only dissuaded a generation that fish was a food group to be avoided, but armed them with falsehoods about how the fishing industry per se, were addressing the problem, leading to much unfounded scaremongering.
The various representative fishermen’s bodies across the EU have met this insidious pressure head on and have put their case across in a forthright and meaningful way with overwhelming evidence both scientific and anecdotal, that change has and is happening, with huge advances being made in terms of the ongoing and resourceful management of numerous fisheries.

Until relatively recently, the different trade federations involved, have remained a little unconnected in their collective ability to counter any negative spin that has built up and therefore place themselves in better stead to meet the arguments and assertions placed in their path. Combine that with a lack of presence in the corridors of the Brussels policy-making echelons, a more cohesive partnership was sought and the embodiment of that has been the advancement of the role of Europêche.

Europêche is the overarching and singular trade body, which represents the twelve member fishermen’s organisations, across nine of the member countries that fish commercially. Although founded in 1962 with the intention of defending the interests of its members and ensuring productive dialogue between them and the EU, its role has recently been galvanized and rejuvenated by a concerted effort to play an increasingly influential part in the proposal and adoption of policy in an already highly regulated sector. Kathryn Stack, its newly appointed Managing Director and former doyenne of EU Fisheries policy implementation, makes the case:

“For far too long the industry has had to endure the onslaught of NGO and media prevarication. Our industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the world and our members some of the most legislation-compliant. We believe in compliance, but also in innovation, progression and responsibility. One of our foremost aims is to uphold the tenets of sustainability: Environment, Social, and Economic (Planet, People, Profit), incorporate them into legislation and ensure in doing so that the views, knowledge and experience of our membership are afforded the recognition and respect from those who ultimately manufacture the policies that bind us.”

Kathryn knows full well, from years of dealing with all the bodies involved, just how much progress has been made and continues to do so.

“There are many ongoing challenges” she elaborates, “apart from the sustainability element, food security, sound decision making from peer-reviewed science, progressive safety at sea, continued development training for our members and provision for succession, all help us to implement best practice. Moreover, we know that out there is a fish-loving populous that’s consuming an average of nearly 25.5kgs per capita across our member countries.”

These revealing statistics are part of the Europêche drive to establish far greater and more positive consumer engagement and mainstream understanding of current practice and doctrine.

“We commissioned a pan-European survey,” she continues, “to ascertain exactly where consumer attitudes lie in respect of our industry, its practices and objectives and the dietary importance of fish and the significance of the accompanying health benefits, in a society where wellbeing is of paramount importance.”

The resultant statistics revealed an enormous appetite amongst EU dwellers, not only for the fish they were buying and consuming, but also for information, born out of a desire to extend their knowledge of its provenance beyond that of the fishmonger’s slab or supermarket shelf.

68% of consumers in the poll, revealed, that knowledge of where and how the fish was caught and by whom, is of significant importance. A further 54% attested that knowing a species was fully sustainable and responsibly fished, would influence their decision to purchase. Furthermore, a staggering 86.4%, in the UK alone, regarded the need for increased Government support for the fishing industry, as vital, in maintaining a healthy and well-managed supply of fresh seafood.

“We took these figures (and many more) from our findings”, Stack expounds. “From what we saw, it was obvious that there was a statistical need for improved consumer engagement and knowledge transfer. The survey showed a clear recognition by Europeans of the importance of our industry not just for food but as part of the wider economy”
Thus was born iFish.

Essentially a consumer-facing information portal, iFish seeks to focus on the realities of the European fishing industry, slicing through the bunkum of myth, discarding the offal of misinformation and leaving only the prime facts available for consumption.

Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the UK’s National Federation of Fishermens’ Organisations (NFFO) and a Vice President of Europêche, regards iFish as a natural response to the considerable dearth of critical information, lately available to the average fish-consuming European.

“The public domain has been swamped with inaccuracies about the fishing industry for far too long. Our technological development in recent years coupled with the management systems we, as fishermen, have implemented, has seen us make huge advances in the way our industry operates now.” he asserts.

“But it doesn’t stop there. The consumer needs to also understand that the days of archaic, top-down prescriptive and sweeping, blanket-legislation from Brussels are over. For our fisheries to be managed correctly, decentralisation and more regionalisation, has to happen, so policy makers can work alongside fishermen to implement a framework that is not only flexible in its approach but local in its governance.”

“Fishermen are able to react very quickly to circumstance and opportunity. That means real-time data being acted on in a timely way and not accompanied by the lag we’ve seen in recent years. Fishermen need to be consulted at every opportunity and we need to see more decisions being made in the wheelhouse.”

So what next? Our desire for abundant seafood has placed undoubted strain on stocks in the past, but both Barrie and Kathryn are at pains to illustrate, that with the increasing number of commercial species, reaching MSY and improved education for consumers high on the agenda, a bright future lies ahead for the fisheries of the EU.

Barrie continues: “With the reduction in effort that we’ve seen due to the recovery of stocks and hopefully more localised roadmaps produced for better fishery management, our members should be able to fish with confidence for generations to come.”

This all certainly rings true for Peterhead fisherman Jimmy Buchan. Having faced the bleak and dispiriting prospect of decommissioning his vessel five years ago, he decided to alter course, in a supreme effort to be able to continue with what he knows best. A major refit of his boat (Amity II) ensued, with investment in every aspect of her function. Everything was scrutinized, from fuel efficiency, crew safety and training, to gear function and navigation technology, culminating in a modern workhorse of a boat equipped handsomely for life on the waters of the North Sea for the next 20 years.

“I just felt I had to invest,” he stresses. “With the fishing as good as it has been for many years, we, the skippers, merchants and processors, know full well there’s a future for our industry, which if managed correctly, will ensure quality fish continue to be landed around our coasts. Many of us are now engaged in live data recording aboard our vessels with CCTV and electronic monitoring of everything we do. We embrace it happily because we know it’s part of the overall sustainability for which we strive.”

It’s clear that Jimmy Buchan is not alone. All around the coast of the UK from Peterhead to Newlyn, fishermen are adopting these measures and are massively keen to interface with society on the future of fishing.

From the deep-water vessels, to the inshore artisanal boats, all are integral to the economic fabric and overall demographic of coastal communities and their dependents. Large or small, both types continue to coexist, as they carry out essentially the same function i.e. the hunting of wild food.

iFish is there to inform, to educate, to reassure and to enthuse. It aims to deliver a message of confidence, whilst excluding and filtering out the sensationalist background narrative that confuses and confounds.

Last words go to the Europêche President, Javier Garat, who sums up in definitive tone, the need for confidence in the future of an industry worth over seven billion Euros, in landings alone.

“There is a need throughout Europe for consumers to have a clearer idea of how the fish they eat is caught, the fishermen and the vessels behind the catch. Fishermen take their role as stewards of the sea incredibly seriously. There is no one more determined than the fishermen themselves, to see healthy and sustainable stocks. The EU sector is leading the way in innovative technology and gear development and is taking part in a huge number of projects to improve catches, enhance monitoring and compliance and participate in voluntary oceanic cleanup. This proactive approach and total commitment to responsible fishing must filter down to the public, so they can see for themselves all the hard work and success the sector has achieved over the last few years.”

Mike Warner

Originally appeared on EASTCOASTAVOCET 

Through SFPAs the EU provides financial assistance to partner countries to boost local fishing sectors and fishing governance, scientific research and contribute in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in exchange for access rights. SFPAs are widely regarded as one of the most transparent agreements in the world.

In 2014, the budget for SFPAs was €68 million, of which 35 per cent was used to reinforce the governance of the fishery sector in the partner country. In addition, Europêche members operating within SFPAs guarantee local fishermen a salary at an International Labour Organisation (ILO) approved level. To ensure these benefits are felt, SFPAs also require EU ship-owners to employ local fishermen (up to 60 per cent of the crew in some agreements).

Further protection as part of an SFPA agreement comes in the form of rules preventing EU vessels from fishing within 12 miles of shore to avoid competition with local artisanal fishers. SFPA agreements also incentivise EU vessels to land their catch for processing in the partner country, thereby contributing to employment and the economic wellbeing of the country.

Kathryn Stack, Managing Director of Europêche, which represents 80,000 fishermen and 45,000 vessels within the EU fleet, said: “Europêche members have good relationships with our partners in Africa. By entering into SFPAs we can ensure that both partner countries and their citizens get a fair deal as part of our fishing in Africa.

“There have been disturbing reports about IUU fishing off the coast of Africa in recent weeks, which is something our organisation and members stand against. SFPAs are important in raising our standards in terms of fishing and thereby helping promote higher standards for all fishing off the coast of Africa, thereby protecting both the environment and African fishermen.”

The fishing industry is a major employer in Africa, with 12.3 million people directly employed in the sector – two per cent of the population between 15 and 64 years old. In 2011, the fishing trade accounted for 1.26 per cent of the GDP of all African countries.

Battista Sanguedolce lives and works in Rimini, a famous seaside resort close to the tiny principality of San Marino. Hailing from a long line of fishermen originally from Lampedusa in the southern Mediterranean, Battista began fishing with his father 33 years ago at the age of 13.

Now plying his trade in the Adriatic Sea aboard his 8.5m boat Freccia (Arrow), Battista and his crew of three usually target sole, gurnard, squid and sea snails, depending on the season. Battista uses a variety of fishing methods including nets, gill and trammel nets, fish traps and baskets for the snails.

Battista is committed to sustainability and ensuring the future of the industry. However, he also feels that fishermen are facing increasing costs to stay in the industry, with the rising price of fuel as a particular example.

Battista’s average day begins before dawn, when he will go out to fish before returning port and preparing the fish for sale. He then sets up shop and sells his fish directly in the main square of the port of Rimini for roughly four hours between 8:30 and 12:30. Battista then takes a break, mooring the boat before returning home for lunch with his family and an afternoon rest. However, his day is not yet done as just before sunset he ventures back out to sea to drop the nets for another three hours of work before coming home, eating dinner and going straight to bed. Battista does this for at least five days a week, except in summer, where he does it every single day.

Unsurprisingly, Battista says the long hours and the time spend away from his family is the most challenging part of his job, but that he loves the rewarding feeling of coming home knowing the day went well.

The new external dimension of the CFP has introduced the following principles :

• Development of scientific knowledge and advice
• Human rights clause concerning respect for democratic principles and human rights, which constitutes a crucial element of such agreements
• Promotion of sustainable fishing activities aimed at long-term resource conservation
• Support and promote actions to eradicate IUU-fishing
• Strengthen regional cooperation, good governance and sustainable development of partner countries’ fisheries sectors
• Enhance the role of RMFOs
• Financial assistance for sectoral support provided that the partner country achieve specific results (infrastructures, local development, social investment etc.)
• Joint management of stocks with 3rd countries fishing in that area
• Public ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of each protocol to a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement

David Stevens runs the family owned, 20 metre trawler Crystal Sea, along with his brother Alec. He has been fishing for nearly 25 years, but his family’s fishing heritage goes back to the 13th Century.

Today, David and his crew of four catch 25 plus different species, but predominantly target haddock, angler fish, lemon sole and John Dory. Their trawler operates in the south western approaches where the Atlantic Ocean meets the rugged Cornish coast. They are often out at sea for five to six days, depending on the weather, as to maximise the quality and freshness of their catch.

The crew catches an estimated 500 tonnes of mixed whitefish every year. This equates to approximately 900,000 meals!

The Crystal Sea is heavily involved in a number of sustainability initiatives, including a Fully Documented Fisheries Scheme with the UK government, which involves having CCTV fitted to the vessel to monitor everything that happens on board. As well as this the crew is running a fully documented catch trial on all species this year, which involves landing all their catch at port so that the fishing authorities have an idea of how the landings obligation will work in practice.

As part of this trial, David and the crew came up with their own clever adaptation to the fishnet to reduce the amount of juvenile haddock retained. This reduced their discards by a massive 87 per cent.

David believes fishermen should be actively involved in collecting data on fish stocks, as they are best placed to provide it in real time. This allows scientists to build up a more accurate picture of fish stocks and recovery, which can only benefit the industry.

One of David’s favourite fish for catching, and for eating, is the John Dory. He calls it a great tasting and unique fish, which takes experience and knowledge to catch. Despite the technology available for locating fish, David often uses the state of the tides as his guide for where to shoot his nets.

Video courtesy of Cornwall Good Seafood Guide

James Locker, from England, is the captain of the seven strong crew on the pair trawler OUR Lass III, part of the of Lockers Trawlers fleet. There are three generations of fishermen in James’ family, including his father, Arnold Locker, owner of Lockers Fish and Trawlers and ex chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation.

His vessel, which catches primarily cod and haddock, was instrumental in setting up and pioneering the Fully Documented Fisheries Scheme with the UK government’s Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, meaning that every step of the fishing process is video monitored by 24 hour CCTV. All Lockers Trawlers’ vessels now operate under the scheme and have done so since 2010.

Lockers itself has taken significant steps to strengthen its commitment to sustainability and efficient fishing. By using highly selective nets and participating in gear trials, its discard rate has been brought down to an unprecedentedly low level.

James believes that fishing has changed dramatically since he started in the industry 19 years ago. Originally working a 4-5 day week operating out of his home port of Whitby, Yorkshire, he now works a 7 day week out of Peterhead in Scotland. This, he says, is why vessel efficiency is key to achieving success as it has to be balanced against quota and market prices.

The most rewarding part of the job, according to James, is taking the boat back to port with a good catch and being satisfied that he and his team have achieved all they can.

Below is a video showing the process Lockers fish goes through to get from trawler to table.

Europeans believe the fishing industry has a vital role to play in feeding a growing world population but have accused Governments of failing to do enough to support the sector, according to a survey of consumers spanning the continent.

The findings come in the first ever pan-European survey of attitudes among consumers towards the fishing industry and to eating fish as part of their regular diet. Four thousand consumers in eight major European nations took part in the survey earlier this month. Among the key findings were that 71% of those responding thought the industry had a vital role to play in feeding a growing world population but with 84% saying that Governments should do more to support the sector and fishermen.

Despite the fishing industry contributing €71.3 billion to the EU economy*, only 1.7% of the EU’s 2014 budget for sustainable growth in natural resources was allocated to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, against 97.5% of funding allocated to European agriculture. This equates to €1 billion of funding for the fisheries sector against €57 billion bolstering the agricultural sector in 2014 alone. **

The survey also disclosed that 70% of Europeans eat fish at least once a week, partly for health and taste reasons. Spanish consumers were revealed as the most avid fans, with the majority (almost 75%) eating fish at least 2-3 times each week. Most consumers (84%) preferred to eat fish at home rather than in restaurants.

In each of the countries surveyed – the UK, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands – the majority (73%) of consumers said they bought fish at the supermarket rather than at a fishmongers but said the stores didn’t offer a wide enough choice.

Over two thirds of consumers across Europe (68%) noted that they would like to know more about where and how their fish had been caught, and who had caught it, though new regulations introduced in December 2014 meaning that all labels must now carry the exact location and method of the catch could alleviate this. Furthermore, the majority (54%) of consumers said the knowledge a species was sustainably caught would influence their buying decision. These concerns are addressed, as all EU fishermen meet strict EU standards on fisheries practices to ensure that fish are sustainably caught.

In the UK specifically, 86.4% of consumers thought more needed to be done by Government to support the country’s fishing industry with 75.6% saying fisheries played a key role in offering a healthy food source to the population.

The survey was commissioned independently by Europêche, the body which represents 80,000 fishermen and 45,000 vessels within the EU fleet, to mark the launch of its new consumer facing information portal – iFish.

iFish is designed to address the growing consumer appetite for information on the industry, and will cover key themes such its economic and environmental impact, as well as its role in providing a healthy, sustainable food source to a growing population.

The findings come in the week which will see 25,000 fishing industry professionals attend the Global Seafood Expo in Brussels – the industry’s showcase event which will see more than 1,700 companies from over 75 countries meet to identify future opportunities within the industry.

Europêche managing director Kathryn Stack said:

“The survey clearly shows that Europeans recognise the importance of the fishing industry both to their daily diets but also as part of feeding a growing world population. Fishing is a heavily regulated industry and the fishermen we represent have made huge strides in recent years, not only to comply with new European regulations but secure the sustainability of fishing practices and in turn, their livelihoods.

“There is a huge disparity between the level of support provided to the agricultural and fishing sectors and what’s important now is that Governments recognise this and provide a more level playing field to assist those who frequently work in difficult and dangerous conditions to put food on our plates.”

The consumer findings come on the back of the publication of the latest scientific findings by the European Commission*** which show continued success in the industry’s drive for sustainability. The data shows 36 stocks are now fished at Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) levels – a key indicator of the sustainability of a particular fishery – compared to 27 fisheries at MSY in 2014, and just two in 2003.

According to the latest scientific advice from ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), there has been a 50% reduction in fishing pressure across all commercial stocks in the North Atlantic since 2000.

Europeche members include the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation – the industry bodies which represent the interests of the United Kingdom’s 6,415-strong fleet, which lands 599,523 tonnes of fish each year.

Barrie Deas, chief executive of the NFFO, said:

“iFish is a response to the lack of consumer focused information available which is something European consumers were concerned about, as this survey has shown.

“Over half of all respondents believed fish stocks are in serious decline – a misconception that the latest scientific figures show clearly isn’t the case – so further education for consumers is timely and we hope will go some way to addressing the misconceptions that still plague the industry”.

To view iFish, visit www.ifish.info

[ENDS]

For more information, please contact Ellie Smith or Jack Williams – [email protected] / [email protected] – 0845 4567 251

The survey was undertaken independently by Research Now between 03/04/2015 – 08/04/2015 and encompassed a total of 4,000 respondents – 500 each from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK.

* p. 17 & p.34, Facts and figures on the Common Fisheries Policy, http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/publications/pcp_en.pdf

**p.19, Multi Annual Financial Framework 2014-2020, European Commission, http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/multiannual-financial-framework-2014-2020-and-eu-budget-2014-pbKV0413055/?CatalogCategoryID=mpgKABstFogAAAEjbIUY4e5K

*** http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/publications/documents/eu-fisheries-n-e-atlantic-msy-jan-2015_en.pdf

Europêche represents the fisheries sector in Europe. Currently, the Association comprises 12 national organisations of fishing enterprises from the following 9 EU Member States: DE, DK, ES, FR, IT, MT, NL, PL, UK.