Fishmen from West Flanders are to assist the Flemish Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) in collecting data on species of fish in the North Sea.
The Flemish Fisheries Minister Hilde Crevits (Christian democrat) announced the plan to use data from trawlermen at the signing of a new agreement on sustainable fishing Ostend (West Flanders) on Wednesday morning. For the first time, fishers are at the centre of the deal.
The agreement aims to give fishermen a greater role in shaping the future of the sector. It also seeks closer cooperation between scientists and those that work on trawlers and less paperwork for the fisheries industry.
Under the project, fishers a device that takes water samples will be carried on board fishing vessels. It will enable scientists to see which fish species are present in the sea and where. The device will allow data to be collected more often and made available more quickly.
The information will be used to help set fishing quotas based on up-to-date and reliable scientific evidence. The system can also detect species that are not recorded in traditional catch data. Researchers have already found more sardines in the North Sea than official catch figures suggest.
Two Flemish vessels are already taking part. An action plan to cut red tape is also being prepared together with fisheries industry.