Seafish Wales Advisory Committee meeting

Transcription

1 Seafish Wales Advisory Committee meeting Minutes of 1 st meeting Held on: 19/04/13 Venue: The Cambria, Aberystwyth Attendees: Jim Evans Welsh Fisherman s Association Jim Williamson Welsh Seafish Industry Training Association Ltd Greg Philpot Superintendent for Fishermen s Mission David Tripp Welsh Government, Head of Strategy Malcolm Large Seafish Operations Holly Whiteley Seafish Wales Apologies: James Wilson Seafish Board member Trevor Jones Bangor Mussel Producers Organisation MINUTES: 1. Welcome, introductions and apologies (Chairman) Malcolm Large welcomed everyone to the 1st Seafish Wales Advisory Committee (SWAC) meeting. 2. Seafish update (Malcolm Large) Malcolm Large gave a general Seafish update to the committee, with particular focus on the organisational changes triggered by the court case over the legality of receiving levy from importers. Seafish won the court case, and Defra and the four administrations initiated a discussion with industry, asking if Seafish is relevant and required. Eight open meetings were held, including one in Cardiff, and industry were also encouraged to submit written submissions. The discussion confirmed that Seafish was relevant and required, but highlighted the issue that the Seafish decision making process was remote from industry. This response lead to the launch of the three industry sector panels, i) Domestic & Exporting panel ii) Import & Processing panel, iii) Supply chain and Consumer panel. These panels provide a direct interface between Seafish and industry, allowing industry to inform the Seafish work programme. The three panels were strongly involved in the refocusing of the Seafish work programme. The following four work streams were endorsed by all three panels: Reputation, Consumption, Regulation, and Responsible Sourcing. The addition three work streams, International Trade, Fishing Safety and Information were agreed after negotiations between the three panel chairs. These seven work streams have been outlined and described in the new Seafish Corporate Plan, which was drawn up as a result of the requirements of the sector panels. The corporate plan covers 30 months from 1 st October 2012 to 31 st March It was endorsed by the Seafish Board in September 2012, and it has been now been signed off by all four administrations. At the next Panel meetings Seafish will report on progress in the first six months of the corporate plan and panel members will have an opportunity to comment on the work done so far and the work planned for the future. The next Panel meetings are due to be held on the 1 st May (Supply Chain and Consumer), 8 th May (Import and Processing), and 9 th May (Domestic & Exporting).

2 Malcolm added that during the court case there was a substantial loss of Seafish expertise. The new Seafish corporate plan requires the recruitment of additional posts for its delivery. Permission to start recruiting has been granted by Defra, and the recruitment process has started. Proportionally of benefit A discussion was had regarding the proportionally of benefit. Malcolm confirmed that the outcomes of the court case means that Seafish is legally tied to providing proportional benefit based on the amount of levy paid. Seafish have looked into various models of proportional spend, for example defining spend by region or species, but proportionally of benefit has not yet been clearly defined. This caused a point of contention because it was believed that Seafish was now too strongly directed by the largest levy contributors, i.e. importers, to the point where some panels were being unrepresented in decision making. Jim Evans raised the argument that Seafish spend should be directed towards those that need it most. To put Wales in context regarding Seafish levy, approximately 1.5 % of the total Seafish levy comes from Wales. Reduction of Seafish Levy There was a discussion regarding the reduction in Seafish levy. Malcolm explained that the formulation of the work streams under the new corporate plan had led to an estimated reduction in total levy required from industry. Levy will be adjusted for whitefish and shellfish sometime this year based on the changes in the work programme budget. A levy review is due to take place sometime in the medium term. This review will include investigating the possibility of including salmon and sea trout, and ambient fish (e.g. tinned fish) within the levy. There was concern that a reduction in levy will result in cuts in important work areas, such as safety training and environmental work such as Marine Protected Areas. Safety Training Gregg Philpot pointed out that Seafish had set the bar for safety training, and that the new panel structure had put the provision of safety training in jeopardy. Malcolm admitted that safety training was the most contentious issue amongst the three sector panels. Although all three panels viewed safety training as critically important, there was disagreement regarding the source of funding for safety training. The Import and Processing and Supply chain and Consumer panels believed that as the responsible employer, vessel owners or skippers should pay for the training of crew members. Seafish has undertaken a review of fishing safety funding, and has identified options for reducing levy spend in this area without diluting the success of the work stream. These were presented at the last Seafish Board meeting. The results of the review will be discussed at the next panel meetings with an amended project proposal reflecting the outcome of the review will be presented for panel approval. Malcolm confirmed that the Fisherman s Safety work stream will continue to work as it has been running over the last 12 months for the foreseeable future. Responsible Fishing Scheme With respect to the Responsible Fishing Scheme, an initial, first stage report has been submitted with recommendations for a second stage review. This review will have to be approved by the panels if it is to go ahead. Summary Malcolm noted that most believe, in principle that Seafish has changed for the better, especially in terms of accountability and representing industry. The above discussions, however, highlight the fact that although the new sector panel structure means that Seafish are much more open and engaged with industry regarding the decision making process than in the past, it is challenging to come to equitable conclusions regarding future direction because industry views are so diverse.

3 3. Agree Advisory Committee Terms of Reference (ALL) Malcolm Large introduced the draft SWAC terms of reference to the committee for comment. There was a discussion regarding the links between the SWAC and the Seafish sector panels and Executive board. Malcolm explained that this committee will feed into the panel process via representatives that sit on both, for example Jim Evans can feed back to the Domestic and Exporting panels, and James Wilson can to feed Welsh views back to the Seafish Board. The Terms of Reference gave SWAC members opportunity to look at minutes of Seafish board meeting following their publication. It was noted that all Seafish Board meeting minutes were available for anyone to view online on the Seafish website, as part of Seafish s commitment to transparency. In addition to this, all original project proposals submitted to the panels are on the webpage. To make it easier for SWAC members to view these minutes, a link to the minutes will be provide on all future SWAC agendas. ACTION 1: Holly to include a link to most recent Seafish board meeting minutes on SWAC agendas in the future. With respect to industry representation, Holly informed the committee that she had started making contact with processors and merchants, but hadn t met enough to identify representatives for invitation on to the Advisory Committee. Making contact with more individuals in this sector is a target for the next 3 months. ACTION 2: Holly to identify and invite processor and merchant representatives on to the SWAC. David Tripp confirmed that he would be the key Welsh Government representative to attend committee meetings, and that additional WG representatives would attend as necessary, for example to discuss a particular project or issue. It was confirmed that the Advisory Committee would take the place of the informal Steering Group that was initially set up in the first few weeks of the Seafish Wales post. The Seafish Wales post will now consider and take on board the broader advice of the Seafish Wales Advisory Committee The SWAC Terms of Reference were accepted by all. 4. General Seafish Wales update (Holly Whiteley) Holly outlined key activities undertaken over the last 5 months. Please see attached update document for details. The majority of Seafish Wales work to date falls into five key work streams; i) Welsh Waters Scallop Strategy, ii) Industry Data, iii) Education and Awareness, iv) EFF project support, and v) Stakeholder engagement. Holly raised the question of an Environment and Management work stream, focused on facilitating the development of an ecosystem-based approach to, and possible co-management structure for fisheries management in Wales. It was noted that the WFA had made a lot of progress on this front, and that substantial Seafish support was not required at this moment. However, it was expected that as momentum in this area increased Seafish Wales could have a greater role to play. SWAC must be aware that the Seafish Wales post will have less time to devote to each work stream as the number of work streams increases. 5. Seafish Wales project proposals for discussion (All) Before project proposals were discussed, Malcolm noted to SWAC that to deliver projects in Wales, the Seafish Wales post must, where possible, identify where project proposals fit into the Seafish work programme in order to access funding from one of the seven work streams. In unforeseen circumstances, where projects do not fit into one of the seven work streams, there is a contingency fund that can be

4 accessed, with permission of Paul Williams, Seafish Chief Exec. A project is much more likely to be funded if a strong case can be made and it is fully endorsed by industry. Holly outlined the following projects for discussion. Please see attached project idea document for a more detailed outline of each project; Industry Data ownership project The Industry data ownership project is proposed as a pilot project for identifying issues and opportunities for industry data ownership management and commercialisation, the outputs of which will be applicable to inshore industry around the UK. There was a discussion regarding the use of the Seafish service Kingfisher as a central storage and sharing platform for industry data. The use of Kingfisher could be one of the options explored in this project. Holly confirmed that the project idea had strong support from Mike Kaiser, and that there was a potential that Bangor University could share the industry data they were collecting to inform the project, with industry s consent. This project would have to be funded through the Seafish contingency fund. The response to this project idea was very positive, and it was endorsed by all members of SWAC that were present. ACTION 3: Holly to pull together a formal project proposal for the industry Data ownership project. Welsh Discard Utilisation project The aim of this project is to identify options for discard utilisation in Wales, in order to help the Welsh industry better prepare for the implementation of a discards ban. The project was deemed necessary by SWAC, was endorsed by all members present. 60% funding would be sourced from EFF Axis 2. ACTION 4: Holly to pull together a formal project proposal and EFF application for a Welsh Discards Utilisation project. Seafood education initiative A discussion was had regarding a Seafood education initiative in Wales. David Tripp informed SWAC that Welsh Government Education were not willing to commit to additional slots in the curriculum for seafood, however they were happy to facilitate initiatives in schools through the Local Education Authorities. Holly confirmed that she was in discussions with Jo Dunlop (Seafish) regarding the Seafish National Education programme, and how to roll it out in Wales. This initiative will target primary school children, and is likely to include workshops in individual schools, which are arranged by approaching the school directly. With respect to targeting older children, Holly outlined her observation of a Seafood Scotland Seafood in Schools workshop. This would be an ideal approach for targeting secondary school children and school leavers. However, it must be noted that Seafood Scotland have a whole team dedicated to this project, and that it is not possible for Seafish Wales to achieve the same thing in Wales unless similar support is provided. There was a discussion regarding school leavers, and targeting them with New Entrants courses either through Seafood in Schools workshops or the careers office, in order to promote fishing as a career. Jim Williamson confirmed that the Welsh Seafish Industry Training Association had funding for two New Entrant courses in Jim W noted that individuals must be of 16 years or older to be able to attend the course. Jim Evans also mentioned that some industry members have and could volunteer to run small, industry workshops in coastal schools in order to raise awareness. This was deemed a good idea and will be investigated further. ACTION 5: Holly to facilitate seafood education initiatives in Welsh schools with support of industry, Welsh Government and Seafish.

5 Locally-sourced seafood campaign (supporting Cywain Fisheries) It was agreed by SWAC that Seafish would contribute to this project though benefit in kind, in terms of Seafish Wales time, Seafish contacts and existing resources. ACTION 6: Holly to contribute to the Locallysourced seafood campaign where possible. Local Catch Wales app development project The development of an App to increase awareness of and access to locally-sourced seafood in Wales was endorsed by all members of SWAC that were present. Malcolm stated that Seafish are unwilling to put more money into this App, because they made the initial contribution based on the agreement that it would be rolled out across the UK. Funding for App adaptation could come from the FLAGs (EFF Axis 4). ACTION 7: Holly to facilitate the adaptation of the current Local Catch app for Wales. 6. Seafish Wales communication strategy (Holly Whiteley) Holly briefly outlined her plans for communication with industry, Welsh government and SWAC. These plans included regular, monthly contact with key industry and Welsh Government representatives, a quarterly e- newsletter to industry, as well as more regular updates and links on a Seafish in Wales webpage, to be found on the main Seafish website. This Seafish in Wales page will not only describe Seafish Wales work, but will report on all other Seafish interventions happening in Wales. With respect to reporting to SWAC, it was decided that Holly would forward the bimonthly Seafish Wales update prepared for the Seafish Board to SWAC members after each Board meeting takes place. The next Seafish Board meeting will be held on Thursday 23 rd May ACTION 8: Holly to forward Seafish Wales Update to SWAC members following future Seafish Board meetings. 7. Seafish Wales plans for next period (Holly Whiteley) It was agreed that plans for next period had been largely covered in the discussions during the previous two items. 8. Wales Fisheries Strategy update (David Tripp) David Tripp outlined current progress on the renewal of the Wales Fisheries Strategy. David explained the changing context of the updated strategy, informing SWAC that Alun Davies, the Minister for Natural Resources and Food, had recently announced a merger between the Marine Unit and Fisheries Unit, in order to allow greater collaborative working and more integrated marine policy. This, in addition to increases in the responsibility of Welsh Government for Fisheries management since 2010, the establishment of Natural Resources Wales and the upcoming demands of CFP reform, create a different context for the new strategy, and also a broader remit. For example, marine conservation management will now be included in the strategy. Due to the changing context and broader remit, the renewal of the strategy is involving the integration of a greater number of work streams than first expected, therefore there is a slight delay to its release. The launch of the strategy was initially planned for around the end of April, but is now more likely to be sometime in summer. David informed SWAC that the updated Strategy will set out Welsh Government vision for Welsh Fisheries, and will include both a summary of current work towards this vision, as well as short term and long term goals. Welsh Government intends to take an on-going, semi-consultative approach to developing and implementing the strategy with industry following its launch later this year. As a result of this, the strategy

6 will very much be an open, working document, and everybody will be free to input into its long-term development. 9. Confirm date of next meeting (Chairman) It was agreed that the next SWAC meeting would be arranged for October ACTION 9: Holly to arrange next meeting for October Industry representatives from aquaculture, processing and merchant sectors to be invited. SUMMARY OF ACTIONS: ACTION 1: Holly to include a link to most recent Seafish board meeting minutes on SWAC agendas in the future. ACTION 2: Holly to identify and invite processor and merchant representatives on to the SWAC. ACTION 3: Holly to pull together a formal project proposal for the industry Data ownership project. ACTION 4: Holly to pull together a formal project proposal and EFF application for a Welsh Discards Utilisation project. ACTION 5: Holly to facilitate a seafood education initiative, with support of industry, Welsh Government and Seafish. ACTION 6: Holly to contribute to the Locally-sourced seafood campaign where possible. ACTION 7: Holly to facilitate the adaptation of the current Local Catch app for Wales. ACTION 8: Holly to forward Seafish Wales Update to SWAC members following future Seafish Board meetings. ACTION 9: Holly to arrange next meeting for October Industry representatives from aquaculture, processing and merchant sectors to be invited.