From: World Fishing & Aquaculture

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is calling on fishermen to comment on the benefits and difficulties when it comes to marine spatial planning zones.

This is all part of a new project being run up until the end of March which aims to help marine planning identify ways to best take account of fishing activities.

“We are keen to work with the industry on how best to take account of fishing activity in future marine plans,” said marine planner, Ruth Barber.

Key challenges of the project include how to define core areas, data needs and limitations, differences between inshore and offshore fleets, the potential positive or negative implications of identifying core grounds, the interaction between fishing and other industries, and how the approach might work in practice.

The project is being carried out by ABPmer on behalf of the MMO and a workshop is scheduled for 24 February in London, with representatives from a diverse range of interests invited.

Marine plans will inform a range of marine users and are currently being developed for the East and South areas, with a total of 11 plans anticipated by 2021.

Meanwhile, reports relating to fishing in the South of England from Folkestone to the River Dart in Devon have been published by the MMO.

They cover future trends in fishing, the potential for aquaculture and identifying essential fish habitats, and are all available from the MMO website.

– See more at: http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/industry-news/core-fishing-ground-to-marine-planning#sthash.u7EYgPQS.dpuf