Monty Halls to host Community Supported Fishery Conference

BBC presenter and marine biologist Monty Halls will take to the stage as part of Plymouth’s Ocean City Festival in a bid to introduce and inspire a new model of sustainable fishing.

Monty will challenge members of the industry to create Community Supported Fisheries (CSFs) – in which local fisherman distribute a small percentage of their catch straight to the local community, with the rest going to wholesale.

The CSF model has been running successfully in the United States and Canada for a number of years, and is established in more than 20 coastal towns. It’s been credited with reducing the number of fish discarded from catches, increasing the range of fish eaten by consumers and promoting more environmentally-friendly methods of fishing.

Anyone attending the conference, being staged at Plymouth University and jointly hosted with the Marine Institute on 21 September, will be able to take away information packs and guidance on how they can run a CSF.

Monty said: “CSFs work in much the same way as organic vegetable box schemes, with small fishing boats supplying local people with fresh, seasonal fish.

"We’ve seen how it has helped rebuild the links between local communities and their fishing boats in North America, introducing consumers to a wide range of locally-caught species, and generated vital income for sustainable fishing efforts.”

The conference will bring together experts in conservation, legislation, and the fishing industry, as well as members of Catchbox, the UK's only CSF. It will cover a host of topics such as looking in closer detail at how CSFs operate and can be set up, how fishing fleets work today, issues of legislation and administration, and support and funding.

Monty, who spent a year working with both small fisheries and larger commercial operations in his series The Fisherman’s Apprentice, has been seeking to raise awareness of some of the issues surrounding the industry – and in particular the long-term threat to its sustainability.

Monty added: “Such support can be a lifeline for these boats and indeed the fishermen themselves. The British fishing fleet is under immense pressure due to rising running costs and the lack of a new generation coming through.

“The average age of a fishermen in the UK is 47 – and without initiatives such as CSFs we could be looking at the end of one of our most traditional and vital industries.”

The conference will be held in the Portland Square Building from 10am until 5pm on the 21st. It is free for delegates to attend, but places will be limited. Materials will be provided for anyone interested in setting up a CSF.