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THE important South-west committee of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations meets in Exeter later this month with a number of pressing issues on its agenda.
The meeting, says the NFFO, comes after a period of intense work focusing on limiting the harm to the industry coming from the Marine Conservation Zone planning process.
The Committee formed the core of the South West Fishing Industry Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Planning Group which met frequently during the Finding Sanctuary Project in order to inform industry representatives involved in the project with the local knowledge and views to influence the site selection process.
The Federation said: "The Committee will return to its usual business covering the multitude of policy issues affecting the fleet in the region, both at a local level such as wind farms to national and European policy including domestic quota and CFP reform, annual TAC negotiations and national crab and lobster policy.
"It is also continuing to address Marine Protected Areas highlighting MCZ sites that remain contentious and pressing that an appropriate evidence base must be in place to justify site selection and conservation objectives whilst also opposing the selection of reference areas that would ban all forms of fishing but have no legislative basis or coherent scientific framework.
"The Committee was successful in resisting the 'Finding Sanctuary' project from producing recommendations for automatic blanket bans on trawling in inshore proposed MCZ sites, something which conservation lobby sympathisers sought to achieve in the absence of any evidence based approach."
At the heart of the Committee are its highly active and influential local association leaders who regularly take up the issues of the region as members of the NFFO’s Executive Committee and the Shellfish Committee, providing the Federation with a strong platform upon which to engage government, nationally and on the European stage.
The meeting will be open to NFFO members and non-members alike and will meet at the Great Western Hotel, Exeter from 11am on 19th October. Those intending to attend should advise Joanna Lenehan Joanna@nffo.org.uk ; Tel 01904 635430.
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