FarFish final report
Creators: name: Viðarsson, Jónas R.
name: Friðriksdóttir, Ragnhildur
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: SFPA - Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements
CFP - Common Fisheries Policy
Fisheries management
Results-based management
Stock assessment
Senegal
Seychelles
Cape Verde
Mauritania

description: This report provides an overall review of the FarFish project regarding project progress and main results. The project started in June 2017 and came to an end in November 2021. The main objective of the project was to “improve knowledge on and management of EU fisheries outside Europe, while contributing to sustainability and long-term profitability”. Looking back on what the project has delivered it is safe to say that it has made significant contributions towards its main objective. <br> The FarFish project has now come to an end, after 4 ½ years of intensive research and innovation involving close to 200 scientists and stakeholders from across the world. Multidisciplinary team of experts from research, academia, governance &amp; policy, fishing industry and NGO sectors have collaborated to contribute to more sustainable and profitable fisheries in long-distance waters. The aim of this report is to give an overview of the work done within the project and present the main results. <br> FarFish is funded by the EU H2020 research and innovation programme and has the objective to improve knowledge on and management of EU fisheries outside Europe, while contributing to sustainability and long-term profitability. The EU fleet operates in long-distance waters around the world, either in international waters or within the waters of coastal states that have allowed access to surplus stocks via bilateral agreements. A total of 21% of the EU fleets catches are as results caught in non-EU waters. The fisheries within these waters are however often poorly regulated, management decisions are sometimes based on limited knowledge and enforcement capabilities, compliance and trust between stakeholders tend to lack. The EU does at the same time expect the EU fleets to set an example for other fleets regarding sustainability and best practice. <br> FarFish addresses the challenges faced by the EU fleet in long-distance waters in a multidisciplinary and innovative way by focusing on six diverse case studies, four within the waters of African countries that have signed Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) with the EU and two in international waters. The project has enabled stakeholders from five continents, reaching from China to Brazil, to cooperate towards a common goal of improving sustainability and contribute to a more profitable seafood industry in all corners of the world’s oceans. <br> FarFish is unique to most H2020 research and innovation projects with respect to geographical coverage. It has enabled researchers, policymakers, government representatives and other stakeholders with very different background and priorities to collaborate towards a common goal. Language and cultural barriers have been an intrinsic part of the project, which has made it challenging but also extremely rewarding. The Covid 19 pandemic did affect FarFish particularly hard, as stakeholder participation remains at the core of the project. The FarFish consortium does though feel that they have manged to make the best out of a difficult situation, proving results that will keep the legacy of FarFish alive for years to come.