Our Mission “British farmers are paid to conserve on land. Our project will try to find ways in which fishermen can derive similar benefits from conservation at sea.”

Fisheries Management Plan

Three work streams will be developed in parallel order to work towards a fully integrated sustainable fisheries management plan for Lyme Bay;

1. Habitat Risk

The Habitat Risk work stream will pull together the extensive academic research that has been carried out in Lyme Bay as well as information available regarding fishing activities and other anthropogenic activities that could cause damage to the habitats in this area. Data will be collated in a bespoke geodatabase and will ultimately be used to map and model the risk imposed by different fishing activities on the seabed, within the Lyme Bay area. This assessment will encompass all habitats present in the Lyme Bay area to ensure that a fully objective approach is taken to fisheries management. As the project develops the project GIS will be used to model different management scenarios.

2. Fisheries Sustainability

Good quality fisheries information and a full understanding of local fishing practices underpin the success of any fisheries management plan and we propose to obtain this information through a thorough review of the local fisheries. Our fisheries review will be carried out using the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) pre-assessment framework which provides added value by starting local fisheries off on a path to sustainability accreditation, which may improve the marketability of their produce. Fisheries will be assessed against the 3 MSC principles; The Stock, Impact on the Environment and Fishery Management.

3. Fisheries Management

The Fisheries Management work stream focuses on the development of a fisheries management plan which will be implemented and facilitated by a Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) which will be set-up through the course of this programme. A SWOT analysis will be carried out in reference to the Lyme Bay region to better understand the socio-economic impacts and opportunities associated with an integrated fisheries management plan. The results of the SWOT analysis as well as the output from the parallel work streams will form the basis of the FLAG strategy and ultimately the fisheries management plan. These work packages will be critical in levering EFF funding for the Lyme Bay region and in ensuring the longevity and application of the integrated fisheries management plan.

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