Developing a participatory approach
to the management of fishing activity in UK offshore Marine
Protected Areas

The seas around the UK are home to some of the
most biologically diverse habitats and species in Europe. They are
a rich source of natural capital, providing us with food, a
valuable income, raw materials, and opportunities for leisure and
recreation. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of the ways in
which this natural capital can be conserved for future generations,
while seeking to enable the sustainable use of resources.
JNCC and partners the Marine Management
Organisation, Natural England, the National Federation of
Fishermen’s Organisations and Bangor University are launching a
two-year project exploring participatory processes for
establishing, evaluating and adapting fisheries management measures
in MPAs that include sedimentary habitats as protected
features.
The project will bring together the fishing
sector, regulators, scientific advisors and academic researchers to
explore the challenges of managing sedimentary habitats in MPAs.
Case studies will be used to aid the development of a management
toolkit which can be applied to other MPAs. Crucially, the project
will focus on mechanisms for enabling the fishing sector to engage
positively with the management process and bring their perspectives
and knowledge to the table. Opportunities for improving
communications and raising societal awareness of the value of
protecting marine biodiversity will also be explored.
Project Aims
The overarching aim of the project is to
develop and trial a framework and tools to deliver a participatory
approach to managing fishing activity in MPAs, ensuring fair and
effective management in the face of uncertainty. The project will
bring together the fishing sector, regulators, NGOs, conservation
bodies, scientific advisors and academic researchers to explore the
challenges of managing sedimentary habitats in MPAs, and use key
case studies to aid the development of a management toolkit which
can be applied to other MPAs.
A project overview document is available here.
The project will not
aim to draw conclusions about the validity of policy-decisions for
MPA management measures, rather it will develop and test a
participatory process for making management decisions, ensuring
that this is fair, transparent and uses the best available
evidence.
Workshops
A total for 6 one day workshops are
expected to be held before March 2020:
- Thursday 15th of November 2018 in London
- Wednesday 13th February 2019 in Lancaster
- Wednesday 27th February 2019 in Norwich
- Thursday 23rd May 2019 in Lancaster
- Thursday 13th June 2019 in Norwich
- Date & location for the 6th workshop expected Autumn 2019
still to be decided
More
information on the workshop outputs to date can be found
here.
Further information
If you are interested in being involved with
the project and attending any of the workshops please or would
like further information, please contact:
Alice Cornthwaite, JNCC alice.cornthwaite@jncc.gov.uk
Project partners:
o
Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC) is a non-departmental public body
that advises the UK Government and Devolved Administrations on UK
and international nature conservation. JNCC provides evidence,
information, and advice to governments, public bodies and
stakeholders to support policy development, regulation and
management of human activities to protect natural resources and
systems. JNCC’s remit includes nature conservation issues affecting
UK offshore waters, including raising public awareness of the value
of offshore biodiversity.
o
Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is a non-departmental
public body created in 2009 by the Marine and Coastal Access Act.
MMO licence, regulate and plan marine activities in the seas around
England and Wales so that they are carried out in a sustainable
way. MMO responsibilities include marine planning, marine
licensing, managing fishing fleet capacity/ quotas, responding to
marine emergencies, creation of marine conservation byelaws and
enforcement for protected areas, species and habitats.
o
Natural
England is a non-departmental public body that advises the
Government on the natural environment, providing practical advice,
grounded in science, on how best to safeguard England’s natural
wealth for the benefit of everyone. Natural England’s remit is to
ensure sustainable stewardship of the land and sea so that people
and nature can thrive. It is their responsibility to see that
England’s rich natural environment can adapt and survive intact for
future generations to enjoy.
o
The National Federation of
Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) is a representative body for
fishermen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. All sizes
and classes of fishing vessel are represented, from under-10 metre
beach launched vessels, to 110 metre pelagic freezer
trawlers.
o
Bangor
University is a medium sized University with approximately 10
000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. It ranked in the top
25 (out of 134) Universities in the UK for research excellence in
the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. The University is
extensively involved in EU projects and the School of Ocean
Sciences has had a particularly prominent role in many high profile
marine science research programmes. The Fisheries and Conservation
Group within SOS (Kaiser and Hiddink) has most recently co-led an
international programme to quantify and model the effects of
fishing on seabed ecosystems (funded by the Walton & Packard
Foundations, the FAO and fishing industry bodies).
- The project launched in April 2018,and is due to run for
two years.
- The project partners are delighted to have been awarded funding
for this work through the European Maritime and
Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and look forward to working with the
fishing sector to achieve a common goal of conserving marine
biological resources whilst enabling a sustainable future for our
fisheries.