Conference News

Consensus Conference travel support available for fishermen

The Port Liaison Project and The Nature Conservancy are making stipends available for up to 40 fishermen—commercial or recreational—who want to attend the Consensus Conference on Integrating Marine Reserve Science and Fishery Management.

NFCC President Brock Bernstein said the idea to seek support for a fisherman stipend is a new approach. "Fishermen assert, with justification, that they are not paid to attend conferences such as this, although the outcome may directly affect their livelihood," Bernstein said. Unlike some stakeholder groups, not only do they have no source of funds to pay for travel and other related expenses, they lose income. "So in order to create as level a playing field as possible, we budgeted and sought support for a stipend to fund the attendance of 40 fishermen at the conference," he said.

The Port Liaison Project is a cooperative effort among Oregon SeaGrant, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, CIMRS and fishing industry members to foster opportunities for collaborative research. The Nature Conservancy is interested in ensuring that the recreational fishing sector continues its involvement in the dialogue over marine reserves.