Key Issues for Industry

There are three main issues confronting the industry today:

1. Concerning the natural resource base

It is necessary to increasingly pursue ecological sustainability so that the needs of the present may be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

2. Concerning the operating environment

It is necessary to create an operating environment that is conducive to all three sectors of the fishing industry actively participating in pursuing ecological sustainability — which will inevitably incorporate the following, among other things:

• for all three sectors: objectively based, secure access to fisheries natural resources; and
• for the commercial sector: market development, maximum seafood value, and financial returns that benefit every enterprise in the production chain.

3. Concerning the contributions of people

It is necessary to make more effective use of people, including by:

• improving the capabilities of the people to whom the industry entrusts its future and improving communication between them; and
• developing the community's knowledge of, and involvement with, the industry and its products.

These issues have been brought to the fore through FRDC-funded studies, industry conferences and other discussion forums.