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Dr. Warrick Fletcher, executive director of Research of the Fisheries Department in Western Australia. (Photo: Subpesca)
Foreign advice on fisheries management model implementation
CHILE
Friday, September 28, 2012, 03:00 (GMT + 9)
An Australian expert on ecosystem approach to fisheries is visiting Chile to offer advice on various topics, which include the implementation of a management model.
Warrick Fletcher, a researcher and executive director of Research in the Fisheries Department of Western Australia, was invited by the Centre for Social Studies and Systems (CESSO), a consultancy that advises the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) and the Institute of Fisheries Development (IFOP).
Fletcher participated this week in Valparaíso at the Seminar 'Towards Ecosystem Approach to Management: a Way to Go,' organized by Subpesca and IFOP.
At that meeting, the Australian expert explained that the Fisheries Ecosystem Approach is a strategy that can be applied in Chile by both the Government and the fishing industry in a practical way.
In this regard, he highlighted that this approach involves environmental and ecological aspects, and economic and social impacts of fishing, and it was successfully implemented in several countries: Australia, Ghana (Africa) and Samoa (Pacific Islands).
This programme is used by researchers to collect data and to achieve "the improvement of fisheries planning processes," he added, according to Subpesca.
For Fletcher, four questions need to be replied:
- What are the impacts fisheries have on target species and on other captures in the ecosystem?
- What is the impact of fishing activities on other important sectors that use the sea or shoreline?
- What are the economic and social benefits to the fishery itself and the community in general?
- What activities outside the context of fisheries can affect the development of a fisheries management plan?
During the seminar, the Director of Scientific Affairs of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific (PCSP), Marcelo Nilo Gatica, remarked on the appropriateness of generating in situ interventions of this model, through pilot projects.
"PCPS is interested in being able to replicate pilot experiences that have been developed as a pioneer project in Chile," he stressed.
Meanwhile, Subpesca head, Pablo Galilea, said that "the visit of the expert is highly relevant and necessary as a means of socializing the challenge that the fishing activity poses to ensure its sustainability over time."
"Being able to pursue the vision of a new way to manage fisheries, which is being incorporated in the proposed amendment of the Act currently under discussion in Congress, is very positive for us," he stated.
The Australian expert will participate in meetings with researchers from the Catholic University of the North (UCN) and at a Working Group on Regional brown algae in Serena, as part of the international advisory on the work Subpesca develops on brown algae fishery management.
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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