The ‘Fishers of the Future’ foresight study was an EU-wide participatory project launched by the European Commission to examine the future role of fishers in society up to 2050. It ran from October 2023 to December 2024, and looked into fishers’ hopes, fears, expectations and needs, to understand how the profession is likely to evolve by 2050. The study, which focused on fishers working in the waters of the EU 22 coastal Member States, was conducted by a team of researchers from Tetra Tech International Development (lead) and Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management Europe, Ipsos, F&S, and Trinomics.
The project aimed to present possible pathways for fishers’ crucial role in society beyond providing high-quality seafood with a relatively low carbon footprint. To achieve that, project explored i) factors and trends influencing the long-term sustainability and profitability of the fishing sector and fishing communities’ well-being (e.g., impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, green and digital transition, skills, ageing workforce, market, and trade developments), ii) fishers’ identity and role beyond their core business, , and iii) challenges and opportunities resulting from cooperation and synergies between fishers and other maritime stakeholders.
Trinomics supported the project implementation by exploring factors affecting the future landscape of the fishers, including identification, analysis and description of key trends and policies on the 2030 and 2050 horizons, and provided relevant analyses and stakeholder engagement in 3 Member States, namely Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Find the report here
Categories: Environment, Water