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	Stewardship Video - Part 1 of 2
	Stewardship Video - Part 2 of 2
	Upcoming Events
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	Reference Documents
	Newsletter - Issue 1, December 2009
	Stewardship Program Presentation - Burin

Fisheries Stewardship Program

Goal

The Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) initiated a Fisheries Stewardship Program (FSP) with a Pilot Project in Placentia Bay in October 2005. The goal of the Program is to give harvesters and their communities the tools they need to participate in shared stewardship so they may effectively participate in the shared responsibility and accountability for managing their fish resources. By promoting and practicing these concepts in today’s fisheries it will facilitate the rebuilding of fisheries and communities - thus ensuring a vibrant future for coastal Newfoundland and Labrador.

The FFAW's Role in the Fisheries Stewardship Program

The FFAW, with its long-standing commitment and reputation for perseverance and dedication to rural Newfoundland and Labrador, is the obvious facilitator of a Fisheries Stewardship Program in the province. In the Pilot Project the FFAW created strategic partnerships with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board to aid in the implementation of the Program.

Pilot Project

The Pilot Project of the FSP is currently underway and will end on March 31, 2006. To date nine community meetings have been held with eighty-three fish harvesters representing their various fleet sectors and commercial fisheries to find out the concerns and issues they have with their marine resources and fisheries. These meetings created an awareness of the program and provide an outlet for fish harvesters to express their ideas for projects and workshops to be implemented in the next stage of the Program, commencing April 1, 2006.

Projects

Fish harvesters are the backbone of FSP. It is their interest, ideas and enthusiasm that are providing the direction for the evolution of this proposal. Through the community meetings fish harvesters have identified a need for capacity building at the community level to understand the concepts of fish management and science. The Program was successful in developing the fish harvesters ideas into a Placentia Bay Partnership Project that will provide for the development of a formal Fisheries Stewardship course and workshop series. In addition fish harvesters have identified the need for a Placentia Bay Lobster Project that focuses on conservation and sustainable fishing practices which will build on the work done in previous lobster projects.

Future Direction

Based on the experience of the implementation of the Pilot Project in Placentia Bay the FSP will be expanded throughout Newfoundland and Labrador in April of 2006. Due to the vast geographic range and scope of this next stage it is critical that the partnerships formed in the Pilot Project renew their commitment to the FSP, and new alliances need to be created with organizations that are dedicated to creating stability in our fisheries and share the same vision for the survival of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.