Summary From North Sea Fisherman to Multi_Purpose Maritime Entrepreneur Taal, K. and M.J. Bogaardt (LEI Wageningen UR) InnovationNetwork Report No. 12.2.309, Utrecht, The Netherlands, October 2012. Key findings Opportunities for fishing entrepreneurs who want to diversify their activities at sea lie above all in using vessels for biomarine/marine and maritime research (sea and fisheries research), for 'sea farms' between wind turbines (fish and seaweed farms), and for collecting waste from the sea ('sea cleaning fisheries'). In these relatively new and potential new markets, the cutter fishery sector would be able to take on tasks at sea at relatively low cost, so allowing entrepreneurs to use their cutters in a multifunctional way with improved economic prospects. The point of departure here is that the seamanship of fishermen and their knowledge of the sea is unique and is suitable to be used for a range of activities at sea other than fisheries alone. At the same time, fishermen will need to be more open to other sectors in order to work together more and adopt a more active attitude towards exploring new markets. Above all, using trawlers for sea and fisheries research and to clean the North Sea will require political will. Outsourcing research will require a change of policy on the part of the government. For fishermen, besides investing in people and equipment it means they will need to be prepared to enter into a long-term commitment. As regards trawling the sea for litter, the Dutch government also needs to respond to the desire within society and the EU’s moves towards having the seas cleaned by fisheries operators. The government will need to provide a reasonable level of remuneration for this task. It is expected that the fisheries sector will be highly competitive in this area. ‘Sea farming’ between wind turbines would mean fishermen responding to an irreversible development happening at sea and taking the opportunities which stem from it. The offshore energy sector, tackling disasters and emergency response would appear to offer fewer opportunities for fishing entrepreneurs. The operators have their own specialist vessels and long-term contacts are already in place with shipping companies that have experience of serving the market to cope with peak periods. Due to on-going tightening and changes in legislation and regulations (the bar is being raised all the time), it is becoming increasingly harder for existing fishing vessels to continue to comply with the requirements applicable to this work at sea. As a 57 Pagina 62
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