A new video from the GAP2 project showcases the value of collaboration in fisheries management

“Our hopes for the future are not only to grow the red shrimp fishery, but to grow it sustainably” Conrad Massaguer, Skipper in the Palamós fishery

Is collaboration and participation the key to improving fisheries’ management and embedding long-term sustainability in interactions with our seas? The GAP2 project answers an emphatic ‘yes’ to this question with the release of a striking new 6 minute feature film, showcasing the project’s work on bringing together fishers, scientists and policy makers in fisheries across Europe.

Focussed around GAP2’s ‘Mediterranean Red Shrimp’ case study – one of 13 scientific case studies run by the project across the EU – the video, ‘Bridging the Gap’, follows Norwegian anthropologist, Maiken Bjørkan, as she introduces the collaborative work being carried out in Palamós, Spain. With many thanks to Nice&Serious for their expertise.

Featuring interviews with local red shrimp fisherman, and Skipper of the N. Gasela, Conrad Massaguer, and Catalán regional policy maker Rosario Allue, the short film explores the successful development of a regional management plan for the valuable red shrimp fishery.

The video shows how the 'bottom-up' process used to develop the long-term management plan has laid the foundations for success: involving the fishing community in all stages of the design and implementation of measures to improve sustainability. The strong relationship between scientists and fishers in the Palamós fishery is clear to see, with both natural scientists – completing a biological study – and a social scientist on board the N. Gasela during a trawling trip featured in the film.

Also clear to see is the investment of the regional administration in the management planning process. Catalán Chief of Service for Marine Resources, Rosario Allue, even has her own set of fisher's galoshes, and can be seen in the film inspecting and sorting the catch alongside Conrad's crew!

The message of 'Bridging the Gap' – that collaboration between fishers, scientists and policy makers is not only possible, but can lead to fruitful long-term working partnerships – is powerfully reinforced by the closing sequence of the film, showing Miaken Bjorkran, Conrad Massaguer and Rosario Allue together on board the N. Gasela, following a morning's fishing.

The close working relationship shown between these three key partners required to develop and implement a fishery management plan, is central to the film as a whole, and is underlined throughout by footage of the colleagues collaborating naturally as they go about their individual work.

Aimed at informing the EU policy community, and other key fisheries stakeholders, of the value of collaborative working for sustainability, the video is available online at: http://gap2.eu/gap2general/launch-of-gap2themovie/

We hope you enjoy the film!