Fishers of the Future

It is our pleasure to welcome you to the half-day event on Fishers of the Future taking place on 19 March 2024 in Brussels.

In October 2023, the European Commission launched the ‘Fishers of the Future’ foresight study, an EU-wide participatory project that will examine the future role of fishers in society up to 2050. Over the last 4 months, a team of national researchers led by Tetra Tech and partners, a consortium contracted by the European Commission for this study, have consulted fishers in all 22 coastal EU countries to define who they are, how they live, and what drives them. The second phase of the project will focus on collecting feedback from a broad range of stakeholders on drivers and challenges for the future, while the final stage will gather additional information from fishers as well as stakeholders to understand how the profession is likely to evolve by 2050.

As part of the ‘Fishers of the Future’ study, the Commission, Tetra Tech and partners will hold an event in Brussels on 19 March 2024. The objective of the event is to engage stakeholders and the public in discussing the present and future of fishers and the sector. The event will focus on three topics:

• Fishers’ current and future identity and roles in society.
• Factors and trends influencing the long-term sustainability and profitability of the fishing sector and fishing communities’ well-being.
• Challenges and opportunities resulting from interactions between fishers and other maritime actors.

The event will include a plenary session followed by on-site and online breakout sessions to discuss questions presented by the group facilitator.