Project in INTERREG 2 Seas Program

F2E global purpose is to incubate future-oriented solutions for fishing in the 2Seas region.

One of its main objectives is to frame two pilot initiatives in order to disseminate technical innovations via demonstration.

This involves two influent fishing-ship owners. One is from Oostende, other from Boulogne. Both are capitalizing strong experience in trawling, emblematic fishing method in the 2Seas :

• Stern-trawler (ground and pelagic) in Boulogne

• Beam-trawler (twin-nets) in Oostende

Both are father, son and grandson of fishermen. Each are standing in two different postures, symptomatic in the fishing professional community, impregnated of maritime culture, observing the “end of a world” and eventually leading to the following question:

• To change profession to keep living out of the sea?

Or:

• Whether to change traditional fishing methods to keep living out of one’s profession?

Those aspirations are representative of current reflexions, commonly shared by professional actors of this sector that faces a deep mutation. Project’s function is to monitor two complementary practical answers to the question.

In Oostende, F2E will scout the conversion of an over 20 years old  33 meters long fish trawler’s into a “fishing laboratory at sea” economically viable, devoted to innovative sustainable fishing techniques and gears ‘researches and development.

In Boulogne, F2E will monitor the acquisition and practice of those innovative techniques and gears, in “real play” conditions, by using a 5 years old 22 meters long trawler as a “heavy duty professional innovation demonstration vessel” Project is acting as a kind of buffer to reduce technology risks caused by hybrid system upstream experiencing, and to compensate running losses that “innovation pioneering” may produce on fishing enterprise’s income. The “incubator function” of the project is also to partly or long term chartering these two vessels, after achievement of innovative refitting by owners. The technical and financial support provided by F2E aims to guarantee the success of those pilot initiatives.

Assistance is to be performed over a significant period in order to assess pertinent evaluation and to contribute with efficiency to spread innovative good practices over of large range of target groups. This mobilizes a wide trans-disciplinary expertise & cross border cooperation network, in the 2Seas region.

2Seas program constitutes an accurate frame work, capable of decompartmentalize F2E partner’s respective fields of adequacy. There is currently no equivalent private or public cross border opportunity, ensuring trans-disciplinary projects to rise up, and providing multiannual financial support.