Press Release
20 June 2011
Review of the Cod Recovery Plan – an opportunity for fishermen to have their say!
For many years now, cod stocks in the North Sea, the North Western Waters and other European fishing zones have been under threat. Over-exploitation of fish stocks in these waters led to the introduction of the EU ‘Common Fisheries Policy’ in 1983, and, more recently in 2004, a ‘Cod Recovery Plan’, which was a long term management plan to promote conditions to enable cod stocks to increase. The Cod Recovery Plan placed restrictions on the amount of time European fishermen are allowed to spend at sea, as well as allocating a quota (total allowable catch). This plan is now under review.
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) has been commissioned to carry out an investigation of the social and economic impacts of the Cod Recovery Plan. The research has been sponsored by the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, in collaboration with the NSRAC (North Sea Regional Advisory Council) and NWW-RAC (North West Waters Regional Advisory Council), and will inform discussions concerning the future of the Cod Recovery Plan.
In order to carry out the research, the CCRI needs as many fishermen as possible to tell them about the impacts that the Cod Recovery Plan has had on their businesses and their ideas about how the policy could be improved.
Senior CCRI Researcher Dr John Powell said,
“This project provides the opportunity for fishermen to tell us about their experience of the Cod Recovery Plan, and how it has affected their businesses and fishing operations. It also gives them the opportunity to put forward their opinions and ideas on how things could be improved”.
The CCRI offers fishermen an interview by telephone (in English only), or alternatively by way of an online questionnaire, which is available in both English and French.
English Version:
http://kwiksurveys.com?u=codrecoveryplan_eng
French version:
http://kwiksurveys.com?u=le_plan_cabillaud_fr
The CCRI is a collaboration between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England, Hartpury College and the Royal Agricultural College. It is the largest specialist rural research centre in the UK with expertise in all aspects of research in policy and planning for the countryside and the environment of the UK, Europe and further afield. In particular it has a proven track record in fishing research and common resource management. The CCRI staff involved are Dr Matt Reed, Dr John Powell and Nick Lewis. They can be contacted on email as follows: mreed@glos.ac.uk; jpowell@glos.ac.uk and nlewis@glos.ac.uk
ENDS
Editors Notes:
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) is a collaboration between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England, Royal Agricultural College and Hartpury College. It is one of the leading specialist rural research centres in the country with programmes of research in rural community development, rural poverty, agri-environment policies, agri-tourism, local sustainability, local economic development, EU and UK rural development, and the planning system in the countryside. It also has a proven track record in fishing research and common resource management.
Julie Ryan, Communications Officer, can be contacted on jryan@glos.ac.uk
Chris Rayfield, the CCRI Business Manager, can be contacted on tel. 00 44 (0) 1242 714121
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