A free online service that helps commercial fishers to observe gear restrictions in U.K. waters has been launched by the Kingfisher team at seafood industry public body Seafish.
The new service was created after discussions with fishing industry stakeholders revealed that many members of the industry struggled to source and understand the country’s complex fishing legislation. The new Fishing Restrictions mapping service allows users to see all fishing-gear restrictions in one place, covering all regulatory authorities.
Information can be accessed either in port or at sea via an interactive map, data plotters, and information downloads.
“The new mapping system aims to improve understanding and create a platform which can be used with confidence,” Seafish GIS Analyst Eleanor Michie said. “It provides fishers with an answer to the question ‘Am I allowed to fish here now?’”
The goal, Michie said, is to make it easier to comply with fishing laws and rules.
“In making this information easily available to fishers, we hope to increase awareness of prohibited and permissible fishing operations and promote compliance with regulations and sustainable fishing practices,” Michie said.
To ensure the system meets industry standards and is kept up to date, all gear restrictions have been categorized according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) fishing gear naming system, she said.
The National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations (NFFO) has welcomed the new service, with NFFO Assistant Chief Executive Dale Rodmell saying it brings transparency to the regulations and where they apply, and makes a rapidly-growing and complex set of rules easier to follow.
“If you are going out in your car, you need to know what the rules of the road are at any point during the journey, and it’s the same with fishing. On the road, this is done with road signs, but there is no equivalent for sea fishing, and this project helps to fill that gap,” Rodmell said. “It will make it much easier, especially when at sea to know what rules apply in a particular place, and helps to ensure no one inadvertently breaks them, which can only be good for the industry. It also ensures that the purposes of regulations are realized, and that in turn is a sign of sound fisheries governance.”
Kingfisher will also distribute the data on USB sticks via fishing associations toward the end of the year so that fishers can add it to their plotters.
The new service has been fully funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Marine Management Organisation.
Photo courtesy of Seafish
