The sustainable fisheries management project Invest in Fish South West reached a global audience at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels last week.
Mike Barry, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Marks & Spencer and a member of the Invest in Fish South West Steering Group explained, “Brussels enabled us to take the Invest in Fish concept to a European audience and beyond. From a retailers point of view Invest in Fish is at the heart of fisheries management worldwide. It was great to be able to show case the project at such a key global seafood exhibition.â€
Nathan de Rozarieux, Project Director of Seafood Cornwall agreed, “The Invest in Fish South West presentation was a huge success and demonstrated the value of the project to the South West fishing sector and beyond.â€
Heather Squires, Project Manager for Invest in Fish South West added, “Our presentation at the Brussels show came at an exciting time for the project and was very well received, with many delegates interested in our ideas for conflict resolution and decision making, as well as our use of scientific modelling to explore costs and benefits for the region.â€
Invest in Fish South West, based in Newlyn, is a project aiming to deliver a sustainable future for the fishing industry in the south-west of England. It’s the first project in the UK, led by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation, WWF, and Marks & Spencer, to fully engage all fishing related interest groups, including fishermen, anglers, scientists, retailers, restaurateurs and environmentalists. The stakeholder-led project will be agreeing measures needed to sustain fish stocks, the economy and the wider marine environment for the region by the end of this year. If successful the South West pilot project will provide an example for similar projects elsewhere in the UK, Europe and worldwide.
Heather Squires, Project Manager for Invest in Fish South West noted, “A big thank you goes out to the South West Regional Development Agency for supporting IiFSW, along with other SW fishing companies, who enabled us to attend the European Seafood Exposition. The profile raising and the contacts made it very worthwhile for promoting this South West initiative.â€
Spike Searle show casing Invest in Fish South West at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels. Right to left: Mike Barry (Marks & Spencer) & John Rutherford (Chief Executive, Seafish).
