Day 2 Streaming LIVE.
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Annual Scottish Fishing Conference 2016.
It’s a packed and diverse programme that’s sure to have something for everyone at the upcoming Annual Scottish Fishing Conference 2016.
The conference is due to kick off at noon on Monday 22nd August with an update on the outcomes of the current clutch of Fisheries Innovation Scotland’s (FIS) research projects. These range from ‘Fisheries knowledge’ to ‘Seabed impacts’ and ‘Ecosystems and trawling’ - what do we know about Scottish fisheries, how do we manage them sustainably and what are the impacts on the ecosystems that support them? Post discard survivability is another research theme that should be special interest as is ‘Relative Stability Quota Shares and Implications for the Landings Obligation’.
More in-depth discussions will take place in FIS project workshops on day two. Learning from others is a key plank of FIS activities and Michael Forbes and Simon Harvey will be reporting on ‘Fishing in British Columbia’ after staying and working with fellow fishermen on the other side of the Atlantic. The FIS projects are all designed to innovate and gain knowledge to support Scottish Fishing and will continue with a short presentation of the latest tranche of projects.
The Conference Dinner speaker this year is Professor Ian Boyd, Defra Chief Scientist and well known to many in Scotland as the former Director of the Sea Mammal Research Unit, whose talk ‘From Science to Policy in a post-EU era’ sets the scene for the second day of the conference – ‘Thriving in Shared Seas and prospects for Scottish Fishing and Scottish Seafood outside the European Union’. Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, will introduce ‘Scotland’s vision for a thriving and productive marine environment’, and special guest speaker, Prof. Ray Hilborn from the University of Washington, will be discussing ‘Fisheries management and environmental benefits’.
Delegates will get the opportunity to take them to task in a panel discussion. John Goodlad, Chair of FIS board of Trustees, will be steering delegates through what should be a lively discussion on ‘Fisheries in Scotland, post-Brexit’: “This will be the first opportunity for a public debate on what the future of the Scottish fishing industry might be like post Brexit.
From the interest expressed so far I am confident that this will be an interesting and informative session”, he said. To allow for as many points of view, questions and answers to be included the discussion will follow a ‘Question Time’ format. Topics raised at the discussion will form the subjects for a series of workshops where they can be followed in more detail. The final afternoon session looks at some case studies of ‘Shared Seas’ including mediating between different sectors of the industry such as the South Devon potting agreement and the Anglo-French Scallop Accord; and the relationship between fishing and offshore wind farms.
FIS Executive Director, Richard Slaski, who has been behind bringing the conference together is delighted with the range of speakers and topics: “Yet again we have managed to draw on expertise within Scotland and peppered it with speakers from outside of the country to produce a very varied but totally relevant conference programme. We know the future of Scottish fishing will see opportunities and challenges and the debate will be vigorous and that is key to getting the best for the Scottish Fishing Industry. The uniqueness of FIS is the breadth of knowledge and experience of its members who by working together can appreciate ‘the other point of view’ and reach pragmatic and workable solutions based on sound science and good judgement.
This conference is the perfect vehicle for listening, sharing and understanding. To ensure as many working fishermen as possible can participate we will be live streaming the event and encouraging those that cannot join us in St Andrews to take part watching the discussion and by sending in comments and questions.”
Annual Scottish Fishing Conference can be found on the FIS website: http://www.fiscot.org/events/annual-scottish-fishing- conference-2016/
‘Mindfully Wired Communications’ will be live streaming all presentations throughout the conference via: https://bambuser.com/channel/MindfullyWiredComms
Follow the conference and receive updates on Twitter: @fiscotorg
For further information contact: Richard Slaski execdir@fiscot.org or Sandra Gray s.gray@fiscot.org Kelvin Boot kelvinboot@yahoo.co.uk mob: 07792 385158 08/08/2016