The Fisheries Management and Innovation Group
The Fisheries Management Innovation Group (FMIG) provides a safe meeting space to discuss the key challenges facing the UK catching sector. The three key areas for discussion are: legislation and regulation, stock assessment issues and how to introduce new technology.
People take part to keep-up-to-date with the latest developments, to be part of a cross-industry discussion and listen to the issues raised by other parts of the industry. They can also raise their own issues, present new ideas, network with other people or make new contacts.
The group is led by our industry and we take responsibility for running the FMIG. The Group has met twice a year since 2009. The FMIG brings together people who represent the catching sector, as well as the retail, food service and restaurant industries. Other people who attend are not-for-profit environmental voluntary groups, consumer groups, government, scientists and industry bodies.
This group was formerly the Discard Action Group (DAG) and was originally set up as a forum for the discussion of industry-wide problems relating to discards.
There are generally two meetings a year. The presentations and minutes from the most recent meetings are below. Presentations and minutes from previous meetings are available upon request by emailing: issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
We are running a mix of in person meetings and shorter online bite-size FMIG sessions at the moment.
Next meeting
There are generally three meetings each year, two online and one in person. Presentations and minutes from previous meetings are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
Next meetings:
- Wednesday 28th May, AM online
- Tuesday 15th July, in-person
- Tuesday 4th November, AM online.
Topics are to be decided. To keep updated, subscribe to our newsletter:
Previous meetings
Joint CLG and FMIG meeting (05 December 2024). This online bite-size meeting looked at the latest ICES advice on NE Atlantic stock status and potential challenges and opportunities for the supply chain. The meeting also took a closer look at pelagic fish stocks given from an industry perspective.
The following was presented:
- State of demersal stocks 2024. Dr Ewen Bell,Cefas
- ICES catch advice for pelagic stocks 2025. Steve Mackinson Scottish Pelagic Fisherman's Association
- Status of the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries. Morten Jensen, Nordic Group, with support from the Norwegian Seafood Council
Innovative gear selectivity – current state of play (17 April 2024). This online bite-size meeting looked at recent developments for active gears, including trawls, dredges and purse seines, and for passive gears, including entangling nets, hooks and lines, and pots. Please view the presentations:
- Selective approaches and technologies. Tom Rossiter, SafetyNet Technologies.
- Gear Trials Partnership Project and wider research. Lois Flounders, MarFishEco.
- Preliminary findings from Sumwing trials, and Seafish gear technology work. David Warwick, Seafish.
- Gear selectivity research at UHI Shetland including Smartrawl field trials. Shaun Fraser, UHI Shetland.
Notes and minutes from recent FMIG bite-size and in person meetings are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
FMIG newsletters
We send regular emails with a round up of stories, research and projects in the seafood industry. Subscribe to receive our updates and meeting details.
Terms of Reference and archive
- We have archived presentations from previous FMIG and DAG meetings. These are available upon request by emailing issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.
- View the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the group (March 2019).
Contacts
For more information about The Fisheries Management and Innovation Group contact issuesgroups@seafish.co.uk.