The GAP2 Project is just one of many participatory research projects that can be found across the globe. The success of this method is evidenced by collaborations in fisheries research alone, stretching from Canada, to the US to Australia. If you’re interested in learning more about participatory approaches, why not check out the range of projects out there, demonstrating the value of this kind of research? We’ve compiled a list for you below…
CFRN – The NSERC Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) is a unique collaboration among Canada’s academic researchers, fishing industry and government.
The Network aims to re-shape fisheries research in Canada by bringing together industry, academia and government in collaborative research on questions of critical importance to industry and management. The CFRN is comprised of a large and growing number of collaborative case studies across Canada. The Network has an emphasis on training, and is developing a cohort of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who will have direct experience of collaborative research approaches and of academic, industrial and government perspectives.
DISCARDLESS – The EU has committed to the gradual elimination of discarding. The ‘DiscardLess’ project will help provide the knowledge, tools and technologies, as well as stakeholder involvement, to achieve this.
These elements will be integrated by the project into Discard Mitigation Strategies (DMS) proposing cost effective solutions at all stages of the seafood supply chain. The primary focus is preventing unwanted catches from ever being caught. This will involve promoting changes in gear technology and changes in fishing tactics based on fishers’ and scientists’ knowledge. Secondarily, the project will examine ways to make best use of the unavoidable unwanted catch: exploring marketing and supply chain innovations.
MareFrame – “Co-creating ecosystem-based fisheries management solutions”.
Mareframe aims to overcome barriers to the adoption of ecosystem based fisheries management measures, with a particular focus on: lack of scientific cooperation, lack of stakeholder engagements and ownership, as well as institutional barriers.
MYFISH – “Maximising yield of fisheries, while balancing ecosystem, economic and social concerns”.
The MyFish project aims to provide an operational framework for the implementation of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). A cornerstone of information-gathering for the project was a set of interviews conducted with fishermen from the Faroe Isles, Australia and Alaska.
Ecofishman – “Results-based management to contribute to the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy”.
Ecofishman is an EC-funded project, seeking to develop a responsive fisheries management system (RFMS), founded on results-based management (RBM) principles. Under an RFMS structure, fishers will be given more responsibility for managing and reporting their own activities = creating greater ownership of both data and policy, and building flexible and transparent management measures.
Jakfish – “Judgement and Knowledge in Fisheries management”.
Jakfish is a completed, EC-funded project, which brought together fishermen and scientists to jointly develop flexible and transparent models for fisheries through participatory processes. The project included participatory case studies focused on a North Sea nephrops fishery, Baltic herring fisheries, and swordfish fishing in the Mediterranean.
MEFEPO – “Making the European Fisheries Ecosystem Plan Operational”.
The MEFEPO project focused on the idea of ‘ecosystem based management’, and developing the appropriate knowledge base for incorporating such management into the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and the Common Fisheries Policy. The project included a number of collaborative research case studies in three sea ‘regions’ across Europe.
FMAC – Fisheries Management & Conservation Group
FMAC is a new fisheries co-management group that was created by the Department for Rural Affairs and the Environment, to enhance stakeholder engagement in fisheries management and seafood supply. It acts as the primary group for decision making in relation to all sea fisheries management issues, and is primarily chaired by Marine Scotland.