IndustryScience Partnerships The UK Experience

1

• Industry/Science Partnerships The UK
  Experience
• Paul Trebilcock -Chief Executive CFPO

2
Where We Have Come From

• Years of Fishermens opinions and experiences
  conflicting with those of scientist and
  conventional scientific assessments
• Both could not be right and the conflict was
  doing no good for fish stocks, fishermen or
  scientists.
• The UK Government announced in January 2003 a
  package of funding for the industry which
  included 1 million in 2003/2004 for fishermen
  and scientists to work in partnership The FSP
  Programme.
• Following the announcement, the CFPO and Cefas
  cooperated intensively to develop the FSP to
  improve knowledge of our fish stocks.
• The Government agreed a further 1m each year for
  2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008.

3

• Objectives
• The objectives of the programme were to build
  relationships between UK fishermen and scientists
  and to involve fishermen in the co-commissioning
  of science.

4
To Achieve these Objectives

• The Programme aimed to
• provide information from commercial fishing
  catches on key stocks to supplement data sources
  traditionally used in ICES assessments 
• investigate concerns raised by fishermen on
  scientific assessments or on stocks not currently
  assessed
• investigate innovative scientific methods and or
  more selective/environmentally friendly fishing
  methods  
• support the work of Regional Advisory Councils

5

• What We Have Done
• Since 2003
• Western Monkfish surveys timeseries
• Newlyn Beam Trawlers
• Western Channel Sole survey timeseries
• Brixham and Newlyn Beam Trawlers
• Spring 2004
• Celtic Sea Cod
• Cornish Otter Trawler (repeated 2005 but no
  timeseries at this stage)

6
What We Have Done

• January 2006
• Hake Selectivity
• Cornish Gill Netter
• August 2007
• Benthic Release Panel Trials
• Newlyn Beam Trawler

7
Benefits

• Improved relationships between scientists
  fishermen
• Greater understanding of assessment process
• Improved data and understanding of fisheries
• Contribution to improved stock assessments
• Contribution to improved gear selectivity

8
What Next?

• Industry science partnerships have been focused
  on stock assessments
• There is a role for industry science partnerships
  in future development of technical conservations
  measures (TCMs)
• Essential to use fishermen's knowledge and
  experience when developing TCMs
• Important if we are to avoid ineffective or
  counter productive regulations

9

• Industry/Science Partnerships The UK
  Experience
• Paul Trebilcock -Chief Executive CFPO