FISH Safety Foundation and IMarEST partner to improve fisheries management practices
FISH Safety Foundation, an international non-profit organisation, has partnered with the IMarEST to provide targeted support for fisheries professionals and contribute to international initiatives that aim to improve fisheries management practices.
Based in New Zealand, FISH Safety Foundation provides relevant practical education, access to resources and promoting a positive safety culture in the global fishing sector – a profession recognised as the most hazardous in the world.
"The FISH Safety Foundation is excited about our new partnership with the IMarEST, and we're looking forward to working together with the Institute's network of experts to promote improved safety, sustainability, working and employment conditions in the wider fishing industry - a critically important sector that has often been ignored when maritime issues are discussed. Together we can have a positive impact on the lives of fishers globally." – Eric Holliday, Chief Executive, FISH Safety Foundation
“The safety of marine professionals is one of our top priorities at the IMarEST and I am very pleased to partner with FISH Safety Foundation so that we can begin to tackle the inherent safety concerns in the world’s most dangerous industry to ensure safer working conditions for current and future generations of fishers.” – Dr Bev Mackenzie, Policy Director, IMarEST
The NGO acts as an industry voice, bringing together professionals to tackle the safety issues within the sector through a variety of different projects such as their ‘FISHER Project’, which aims to compile accurate and comprehensive information that is so crucially important to improving the safety standards and practice in the sector.
This synergistic approach to combating the stark safety statistics plaguing the industry aligns closely with that of the IMarEST’s recently launched Global Fisheries Improvement Special Interest Group (FISHSIG) which is dedicated to addressing these challenges by bringing together experts in fisheries science, management and governance.
FISH Safety Foundation will work closely with the FISHSIG to further these aims, enabling the IMarEST to provide targeted support for fisheries professionals and contribute to international initiatives that aim to improve management practices. It will promote best practice for managing environmental challenges and offer new opportunities for professional development.
The IMarEST’s NGO Partnership scheme is open to all non-governmental organisations operating in the marine science and conservation sector and supports capacity building and professional development through access to complimentary membership benefits, knowledge-sharing, online promotion and free membership for volunteers. They are designed to help support the work of NGOs to positively contribute towards the delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG14 Life Below Water).
To find out more on the benefits of an NGO Partnership, please visit the Marine Partners web page or contact marinepartners@imarest.org.