Innovation and communication for more sustainability in marine fisheries (TD-CIVIS)

The main objective of the project is to provide theoretical and practical knowledge about sustainable fishing techniques to the fisheries industry sector by organizing the scientific and technological services that ILVO provides. With a good scientific and up to date knowledge of innovations in the broader fisheries sector, a good quality service can be provided whose aim is to increase sustainability in fisheries. Sound advice for the sector and the policy is necessary. The goal of this advice is to create profitable modern SMEs that are less sensitive to rapidly changing external conditions.

We organize a Technological Service (“TD” in Dutch) within and alongside ILVO’s research activities. This “TD” organizes intensive and target-group-specific communication (both to and from the companies). The TD facilitates innovation and convinces the partners of the importance of a "healthy sea". We devote the necessary attention to the economic constraints within an innovation: wrong choices quickly lead to poor results. The recommendations focus more on fishing methods with low operating costs and a high quality product.

The correct choice of fishing methods - also in terms of sustainability - can give wild fish an attractive public image, and can contribute to significant environmental gains. The advisory task  has already partially been taken up at ILVO. The TD centralizes these efforts. Fishing fleets operate in a rapidly changing world of technological advances in shipping, electronics and fishing techniques on the one hand and policy, environmental legislation and environmental "concerns" in society on the other. The investments a ship-owner makes in a vessel determines the way of fishing for nearly 30 years, therefore they need support in making the right choices. This TD gives them the needed assistance to make the best choices possible.