Suffolk Herring Festival

We are looking forward to seeing a full house at the Dunwich Reading Room tomorrow. It’s a great chance to talk about sustainable fishing in Suffolk, and to learn from local fishers and other organisations. You can find the programme by clicking here.

You can listen to Mark Murphy’s programme about sustainable fishing on Radio Suffolk – available on i-Player until 24th April – click here and listen to the debate.

If you require help in navigating to the Dunwich Reading Room for the meeting on Sustainable Fishing in Suffolk on Saturday 21st April, the post code is IP17 3DT.

While you are in Dunwich, take some time to visit the excellent Dunwich Museum (the Reading Room is just behind the Museum).

If you want to know which fish live in the North Sea, you might like to download this chart – Fish of the North Sea.

It also tells you the name of every fish in the languages of the EU!

If you are coming to the meeting on sustainable fishing in Suffolk, you might like to take a look at the EU’s information page on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Project.

The objectives of the reform are stated as follows:

By bringing fish stocks back to sustainable levels, the new common fisheries policy (CFP) aims to provide EU citizens with a stable, secure and healthy food supply for the long term. It seeks to bring new prosperity to the fishing sector, end dependence on subsidies and create new opportunities for jobs and growth in coastal areas. At the same time, it fosters the industry’s accountability for good stewardship of the seas.

How does the Common Fisheries Policy affect Suffolk? Have a look at the website – http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/reform/index_en.htm – and come along to the meeting at Dunwich Reading Room at 10.30 on Saturday 21st April.

The MSC has announced that “the Celtic Sea herring fishery has been certified to the Marine Stewardship Council Standard as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. Following an 11 month independent assessment, fish accounting for 90% of Ireland’s Celtic Sea herring catch will be certified as sustainable. Herring is one of the most popular MSC certified species with nearly a thousand MSC certified herring products sold in Germany alone. Celtic Sea herring are now eligible to bear the blue MSC ecolabel, advertising its status as being sourced from a certified sustainable fishery.”

The Scotsman reports that the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force, an international team of experts, has argued that “fishing for prey species such as herring and anchovies should be cut in half globally to protect creatures that eat them, such as puffins, whales and penguins.” The team warns that the increasing use of herring and anchovies to feed farmed fish, pigs, chickens and as nutritional supplements for humans is putting wild species that rely on them at risk.

You can read the full story by clicking here.

What is sustainable fishing in Suffolk?

Dunwich Reading Room (behind Dunwich Museum)

Saturday 21st April 2012
10.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

On Saturday 21st April we’ll be holding a meeting at the Dunwich Reading Room to explore what sustainable fishing means in the local context. Many local fishers, restaurants, fish retailers and consumers are unsure about their role in helping to preserve the North Sea as a fishery for the future. While the EU and UK governments, research institutions and NGOs suggest ways in which producers and consumers can support what is called “sustainable” fishing and fish consumption, are there any local answers?

We invite everyone concerned with fishing in this part of Suffolk to come for the morning, to learn what others think of the issue and to give a voice to the local small-scale enterprises that rely on fishing for their long-term livelihood and food security. There will be presentations from CEFAS, MCS and Sustain, which should lead to a lively debate with fishers, fish chefs and fish eaters about how to make sure we are doing the best for the future of North Sea fish.

All welcome.