Survey launched for views on declining fishing industry

Few would argue that our fishing industry has seen better days.

Gone are the times when over 100 trawlers landed their catch in Lowestoft and scores of drifters their herring catch at Great Yarmouth, when Suffolk’s inshore fleets were able to land plentiful catches, so providing a livelihood for scores of local families. Now dwindling fish stocks and strict quotas have forced many North Sea fishermen to turn their backs on a traditional industry that was once one of East Anglian ports biggest employers.

In a bid to understand the impact of fishing’s decline on coastal communities, a major new survey is now being conducted by researchers at the University of Greenwich in London. The results will be used to better inform those involved in fisheries policy and management. It will be made available to decision makers and people living in the towns affected.

The survey, which is part of a European Union programme being carried out in fishing communities on both sides of the English Channel and the Southern North Sea, aims to discover how marine fishing affects people in the coastal communities where they live. It will be distributed to people involved with the fishing industry at all levels and delivered to a random sample of residents living in coastal communities.

People living or working in these coastal communities are being encouraged to complete the survey on line by going to www.survey.bris.ac.uk/greenwich/sensingfishing or by requesting a paper copy from Dr Julie Urquhart at email hidden; JavaScript is required or by ringing her on 0208-331 8227/9751. The survey runs until 19th April, and the results will be published in summer 2014, although the initial results will become available earlier towards the end of this year.

Based upon the original Eastern Daily Press 19th March article by Kathryn Bradley.

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