Cultural values in small-scale fisheries management
Exploring how the role of cultural values could be integrated into small-scale fisheries management is the subject of a webinar (Sept 9) organised by Ireland’s seafood development agency.
The public, free event, chaired and facilitated by BIM and organised by the Cabfishman project, will focus on ways to more adequately account for these values in the Northeast Atlantic region.
Richard Curtin, Senior Economist with BIM, says the Cabfishman project “is an important international project” with partners from Spain, Portugal, France and the UK, addressing common issues facing the small-scale fleets along the Atlantic rim:
“A crucial element of the project is the assessment of cultural heritage associated with the sea, fishing and the small-scale fleets, and how to value that contribution so it can be accounted for in decision-making and policies. That is something which we are going to explore in this webinar.”
One of the project tasks is to collate examples of cultural heritage and to create an “open-access library” that can be added to over time.
“From an Irish perspective, we have collected over 400 examples, ranging from artwork by Paul Henry and others, traditional craftsmanship such as currach making, to ancient fishing knowledge such as ‘marcanna na tallamh’,” adds Curtin.
Cabfishman is led by a team of research partners working to advance ecosystem-sensitive co-management for small-scale fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic. Embodying the collaborative ethos of the consortium, each of Cabfishman’s five participant countries are represented within a Steering Group with each member leading a core area of work.
Webinar programme
‘Evaluating the cultural services of small-scale fisheries in the Atlantic Area’ (David Castilla, University of Huelva)
‘Do small-scale fisheries need yet another research project?’ (Marta Ballesteros, CETMAR Foundation)
‘Do cultural values play a role in small-scale fisheries management’? (Norah Parke, Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation)
