Sustainable Fisheries Community for fishing and seafood producing communities launched to fund projects linked to sustainability.
The North Irish Sea Array Wind Farm (NISA) is pleased to announce the launch of the Sustainable Fisheries Community (SFC). The SFC is a funding initiative focused on the protection and enhancement of a sustainable local fishing and marine environment in the waters around the proposed project area, focusing initially on coastal communities along the northeast coast of Ireland.
With funds of up to €1million available in the initial 18-month pilot phase, the SFC represents an opportunity to develop and deliver meaningful initiatives across a breadth of areas which can help futureproof fishing communities including research and data gathering, education and sustainability. The ambition is that it delivers long term wider industry benefits, establishing a benchmark for best practice for co-existence between Offshore Renewable Energy and the fishing community through a collaborative approach.
Commenting on the launch, NISA Marine and Fisheries Advisor, Patrick Hennessy said ‘We are delighted to be able to officially open the application process for the SFC. Our ambitions are big for this initiative, and we are committed to exploring ways to deliver long term benefits, fill data gaps and co-create a template for the right and just way for offshore renewable energy to exist alongside the fishing community. We look forward to spending the next few months building awareness of the fund and supporting the industry in applying for funding.’
Patrick Murphy, CEO of the ISWFPO, and SFC Founding Committee Member welcomed the new initative saying, ‘Our industry is acutely aware of shortfalls in conventional fisheries stakeholder management. What the SFC represents is a welcome change in that process. It has not only facilitated a dialogue that hasn’t existed before, but it is a recognition that we have a right to sustainably continue to do what it is that we do – and that is to fish. It is also about establishing the best route forward, with a developer now willing to co-create something with our industry to facilitate a just transition to a sustainable future.’
Patrick Murphy, CEO of the ISWFPO and Patrick Hennessy, NISA’s Senior Marine and Fisheries Advisor alongside SFC fund administrators, SECAD Assistant CEO & Programme Manager, Suzanne Kearney and SECAD CEO, Ryan Howard
The initiative is being steered and influenced by a committee which includes members of the fishing community. With the opening of the fund, the wider fishing and seafood producing community are encouraged to get on board and shape the direction it takes from here and influence its ultimate success.
SFC Committee
Founding members of the SFC include:
Voting members
- Patrick Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation
- Brendan Byrne, General Secretary, Irish Fish Producers and Exporters Association
- Paddy Hughes, Chair of Northeast Regional Inshore Fisheries Forum
- Patrick Hennessy, Fisheries and Marine Advisor, NISA
- Ryan Howard, CEO of SECAD Partnership (SFC’s third party administrator)
Project steering
- Mark O’Reilly, Fisheries Liaisons Ltd
Applications can be lodged via the SFC portal available here: NISA – NISA Sustainable Fisheries Community Initiative
About NISA
NISA is a proposed offshore renewable energy project with the capacity to power over half a million homes and businesses with a clean, secure and affordable source of energy, displacing half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
The fishing and seafood producing community are key stakeholders for NISA and the project has been talking and listening to its representatives and members from 2019. This engagement was managed through the project team, working with a dedicated Fisheries Liaison Officer.
