Meet Ellie Green: a conservationist connecting with fishers
I joined Seafish’s team of field researchers in July 2024 from a conservation focused background. I grew up in Cornwall where the sea was an integral part of daily life, and where the historic importance of the fishing industry on communities and culture is unmistakeable.
My mum taught marine biology, and I spent many hours of my childhood and early adulthood rock pooling and snorkelling all over Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. This left me with a fascination for the ocean, marine life and the ways that it shapes and is shaped by the communities that live beside it.
I studied environment and development for my master’s degree and focused as much of my research as I could on the marine environment, culminating in a dissertation on community-based marine resource management in the Indian Ocean, followed by a stint working for a rainforest conservation organisation.
The fishing industry and conservation efforts are often perceived to be at odds.
A simplified explanation of the perceived ideological clash would be that conservation attempts to preserve and protect the marine environment whilst the fishing industry extracts from it and in doing so, harms it.
Whilst this is a significant oversimplification of complex interactions and views, it is true that there is a prevailingly negative view of commercial fishing amongst many conservationists.
Incidences of overfishing and opposition to the development of MPAs are often taken as evidence that the fishing industry and conservation do not share the same views and priorities.
Shifting tides – Fleet Survey 2024
My work for the Fleet Survey was the first time I had the chance to talk to members of the UK fishing industry. I spoke with fishers working everything from small, part time boats to skippers of pelagic boats, and everyone in between, even having the chance to talk to staff at a couple of Producer Organisations (POs).
Initially I had many preconceptions about the commercial fishing industry. During my summer conducting the Fleet Survey these shifted.
The survey allowed me to speak with those who cared deeply about maintaining the biodiversity of the oceans around them for the sake of their futures, their families and communities. Speaking to individuals at all levels of the industry gave me a much more nuanced understanding of commercial fishing. Those who expressed frustration at conservation focused regulations, many of which aim at reducing or preventing fishing effort, felt overlooked and underrepresented in key decision-making processes. They also highlighted feeling that the scientific basis for the decisions had not been appropriately explained or evidenced, rather than taking issue with the aim of sustainable use of marine resources.
My work during the Fleet Survey led me to my current position – that the worlds of marine conservation and commercial fishing have more in common than either side often believes. Both want and need to see thriving, biodiverse seas supporting coastal communities far into the future.
If these two groups can work more closely together and listen more carefully and responsively to each other, far more can be achieved for the future of our oceans and the livelihoods and communities it supports than when they are at odds.
I hope that organisations like Seafish can play a key role in this narrative, highlighting the good in the industry, uplifting those championing sustainable practices and innovations, and facilitating productive dialogues and partnerships that allow us to look to the future with positivity and hope.