Foresight study on Fishers of the Future EU

CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency - Project Dates:
September 2023 - November 2024

Description of Project:
Fisheries are about people, culture, traditions and local economies. They provide employment in many coastal communities. In 2020, there were over 124,630 fishers in EU commercial fisheries. Many factors influence the long-term sustainability and profitability of the fishing sector and the well-being (social sustainability) of its people, for whom fishing can be both a means of earning income and a way of life. Due to the various challenges faced by the sector, fishers might have to diversify their economic activities. This would decrease the pressure on the space available for fishers and related blue economy activities while creating opportunities to develop complementary activities alongside the fishing core business. In this context, it is relevant to explore the cumulative effects of social, economic, environmental, geopolitical, technological, scientific and cultural trends on fishers with a longterm perspective towards sustainable fisheries. In the transition to more sustainable fisheries, the fishing sector and its people will face the challenge of redefining their identity, role and practices, including those beyond their core business of marine fishing.

Services Provided:

Given this context, the Commission wished to develop a project ‘Fishers of the Future' to consider possible future pathways for the crucial role of fishers in society, beyond the provision of high-quality seafood with a relatively low carbon footprint.

The main objective of this assignment was to use foresight to project fishers in the future, to explore the changes that the profession, role and identity of fishers might face in the long-term (i.e. until 2050). The above-mentioned main objective was broken down into the following specific
objectives:
1) Set the scene for the study, exploring who are today’s fishers, what is the environment in which the fisheries sector operates and who are the other stakeholders.
2) Identify patterns and provide insights into what may happen in the next decades.
3) Explore the future of fishers, using foresights methods such as megatrends and drivers to identify the concrete challenges they might face.
4) Identify pathways to 2050 for fishers through a mapping of profiles of fishers for 2050; who they will be and what evolution(s) they foresee in terms of their profession, role and identity.
5) Generate a common level of understanding of the fishers of the future to all stakeholders, citizens and policy makers and lay a foundation for further communication, discussion, reflection and engagement by the Commission.