Ten stakeholders from the fishing industry and research will meet in the University de Bretagne Occidentale to investigate the type and magnitude of social transformations experienced by small-scale fisheries (SSF) and the types of predictable and unpredictable changes that are currently driving these transformations.
The workshop will study these social transformations to investigate how SSF have responded to ecological, economic and institutional drivers and changes during the last decade. This will assist the participants in developing plausible future scenarios of SSF to ensure the resilience of coastal communities. This discussion will contribute to providing key information about the local dynamics of SSF currently unavailable in official databases and reports. By identifying the barriers in relation to current social transformations and the best plausible future scenarios, a complete and holistic understanding can be realised.
The main outcome will be the creation of a European platform for SSF research (SmallFishNet) to foster interdisciplinary work on ecological, social and economic issues related to SSF in Europe. A position paper about the social transformations of SSF will be put forward for publication. The workshop will set up a basis for the preparation of a consortium who can apply for European research proposals. This new knowledge will help to guide future research and provide a solid knowledge base for the implementation of European marine governance Directives. Innovative interdisciplinary approaches to research on SSF will be developed, accounting for the various social, economic, biological, management and governance components of SSF.