Disentanglement workshop – FISHERMEN ONLY
Event Details
Scottish inshore creel fishermen are invited to attend a fully-funded training and knowledge exchange workshop in responding to and preventing large marine animal entanglement in active fishing gear.
Entanglement is a global problem that poses a threat to fishers and marine animals wherever the two overlap.
Whales, dolphins, sharks and turtles all inhabit Scotland’s inshore waters, and unfortunately from time to time can become entangled in static fishing gear. Based on the available data the rate of these incidents and range of species impacted appears to be increasing, with conservation, human safety, welfare and economic consequences.
In response to this and requests from the inshore fishing community, The Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) will be hosting a workshop delivered by David Mattila, a pioneer of large whale disentanglement based in Cape Cod.
Since the early 1980s David has been developing practical techniques to safely disentangle animals at sea, and has established a network of over 1000 trained entanglement responders across 40 countries.
If you are interested in attending or would like any further information, please contact SEA project coordinator Ellie MacLennan on 07393 798153, [email protected] or visit www.scottishentanglement.org
This workshop has been designed to support the creel sector and provide an opportunity for those who both have and have not experienced an entanglement to learn practical skills in disentanglement and share ideas of how to reduce the risk of these incidents occurring in the future. It is exclusively for creel fishermen and those directly involved in disentanglement. All discussions will be kept confidential. Your attendance as well as your knowledge and expertise of the inshore environment would be very much appreciated. All attendee travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be covered by SEA.