How might fishing and farming policies be created to protect employment opportunities and the environment after Brexit? Scientists and key figures present their ideas in a paper for the British Ecological Society.
The paper highlights the need for UK policy makers to adopt an “ecosystem based” approach, which prioritises the protection of natural assets and provides enough resources to fund and reward sustainable farming and fishing practices so that products can remain competitively priced, while protecting principles of environmental justice; sustainable environmental management and community livelihoods.
Recommendations include giving a greater voice to local and regional stakeholders (such as inshore fishing communities, which make up over 75% of the UK fleet) to ensure more locally appropriate and informed management decisions; further development of partnerships between the fishing industry and scientists to improve knowledge of stocks and marine ecosystems; and conservation of Marine Protected Areas.