Setting the course together

During today’s launch conference, the IKTF team invited fishermen and women to engage in dialogue with stakeholders from politics, public administration, academia, business and civil society. Through a series of short presentations, the approximately 140 guests learnt more about future scenarios and trends in coastal fisheries. Participants were able to contribute their own perspectives in dialogue workshops. The IKTF Advisory Board was also established during the kick-off conference. Stefan Hübner, Fisheries Officer at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH), is the new Chair of the Advisory Board. The IKTF operates on behalf of the BMLEH and is based at the Thünen Institute.  

The Thünen Institute has been providing scientific support to the fishing industry for many decades. With the IKTF, this role is being expanded to include greater dialogue with the sector, as well as knowledge transfer and networking. “Scientific innovations alone will not save fishing vessels if they remain confined to the institute’s quay.” Science alone cannot shape a transformation process,” emphasised Birgit Kleinschmit, President of the Thünen Institute, at the IKTF launch event in Hamburg’s HafenCity. The transformation of the fishing industry can only succeed in collaboration with the fishermen and fisherwomen, not over their heads. “Their experiences, their knowledge and their perspectives form a central foundation for the work of the IKTF. “That is why it is so important that they play an active role today and in the future,” said the President.