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Word On The Waterfront:
Keep Collaborative Research by Capt. Proctor Wells
After much deliberation, the decision was made to to fund collaborative research. Fishermen would be able to work with managers, scientists and researchers and would be paid for their efforts. The Northeast Consortium and the Cooperative Research Partners Program grew out of this concept and it would go on to prove its worth, as the fishermen-scientist partnership helped break down decades of mistrust and produced valuable information about the fishery. As one of the fishermen involved in the research from the start, I know how important collaborative research has been. On the one hand it was able to maximize the knowledge of both fishermen and scientists by having them work as a team; the new relationship was just what the region needed to further fishery data. No longer was all ‘science’ without fishermen’s involvement. Data is the key to fisheries management and the new relationships that were built were helping to fill the void. But another important part of the research was the compensation for fishermen that were involved. Myself and others were able to regain some of the income that had been lost in the face of less fish and tighter regulations. While not every fisherman was able to be involved, many were, and this offered much needed income to those participating in cooperative projects. In fact, I built my boat specifically to be effective in conducting research. All of us involved invested time and money in order to have vessels that could offer a proper platform to the scientists. Planning on being involved in this type of research for the long haul, this was an investment myself and others felt worthwhile. So it should come as no surprise that the risk to funding for collaborative research region-wide has left many fishermen concerned. After countless projects, and years of hard work, we have finally proven that working together to save our fishery works. The fish are starting to come back, but in many parts of the coast we still have a few more years to go before the recovery can be felt. To undercut the research now would be yet another blow to fishermen like me. Not only will the region lose the important data stream, we’ll lose the partnerships and the trust upon which a sustainable fishery rests. Let’s now work together to find a way to allow collaborative research in New England to continue. Proctor Wells is the owner and captain of the fishing vessel Tenacious in Phippsburg, Maine. “Word on the Waterfront” appeared in Collaborations: www.namanet.org/documents/collaboration |
