WGFTFB
Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour. Chairs contact: chairs@wgftfb.org
CHAIRS
Paul Winger (Canada), Noëlle Yochum (USA, outgoing, end of 2026), Emma Jones (NZ, incoming Chair 2027), Jon Lansley (FAO)
Website master: Antonello Sala
16th DEMaT (Design and Management of Fishing Gear and Technology) Workshop
/in blog, News/by Antonello SalaDear colleagues,
We are delighted to announce the 16th DEMaT (Design and Management of Fishing Gear and Technology) Workshop, which will take place from 29 September to 2 October 2025 in Oostende, Belgium.
This year, the workshop will be kindly hosted by Hans Polet and his team at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO).
As in past years, DEMaT aims to provide a vibrant platform for exchanging ideas, presenting your latest research, and discussing scientific and technical developments in the field. We warmly invite all attendees not only to participate but also to actively contribute with a presentation. We strongly encourage all presenters to also submit a full paper, so their work can be included in the official workshop proceedings, which will be shared with all participants.
Building on the broadened perspective introduced at the last DEMaT in Rostock, we will continue to address not only engineering challenges but also the broader issues shaping the future of fisheries and seafood production. The central theme this year will be:
“Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Marine Food Production”
We plan to welcome keynote speakers and invite experts from neighbouring disciplines, fostering an interdisciplinary discussion on how to meet the pressing challenges of climate change, resource management, and sustainable practices in our sector.
A dedicated conference website will be up and running soon, where you will find detailed information, the preliminary program, important deadlines, and submission instructions. We will inform you as soon as it goes live!
In the meantime, we welcome your early feedback and suggestions to help us shape this year’s workshop into a truly engaging and meaningful event.
Please feel free to contact us at any time.
Please feel free to forward this invitation to anyone you would like to jo
We look forward to seeing you in Oostende!
Hans Polet (hans.polet@ilvo.vlaanderen.be)
Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO)
Sascha Kosleck (sascha.kosleck@uni-rostock.de)
on behalf of the DEMaT organizing team
Workshop invite on the Carbon impacts of fisheries
/in blog, News/by Antonello SalaThe impact of climate change on marine ecosystems is a key issue that ICES builds into its work. The activities of this workshop will contribute to knowledge related to the carbon impacts of fisheries, as well as the climate implications of fish extraction, thereby supporting the development of ecosystem-based management. Since ocean carbon sequestration is significant from the perspective of climate change mitigation and adaptation, these activities are considered to have a very high priority. This workshop builds on WKFISHCARBON1 (2023).
The workshop will cover three core topics:
The workshop will be run in person (8-10th April 2025) at the ICES Headquarters in Copenhagen (Denmark), with some given talks available to be streamed online.
Visit the link to register today: WKFISHCARBON2
Join the New ICES Working Group on Innovative Fishing Gear (WGING)!
/in blog, News/by Antonello SalaMany of you have previously participated in the ICES workshops on innovative fishing gear (WKING20, WKING23). Building on this work, we are excited to announce the new ICES Working Group on Innovative Fishing Gear (WGING)!
Why WGING?
The need for robust data to support recurrent advice requests from DGMARE on the adoption of innovative fishing gears in EU waters remains as crucial as ever. WGING has been established to continue this important work, ensuring regular data collection and knowledge sharing to support sustainable and efficient fishing practices.
🔗 Find out more about WGING and its three-year Terms of Reference (TORs) here: ICES WGING
🔗Details of the TORs for WGING on pages 5 to 7 of the document: HUDISG EG Resolutions 2024.pdf
First Meeting – Save the Date!
📅 When? 15–17 October 2025
📍 Where? Hybrid format – Join us in Copenhagen or online
Get Involved!
WGING is chaired by Julia Calderwood (Marine Institute, Ireland) and Antonello Sala (CNR, Italy), and we are looking for enthusiastic participants to join our efforts.
✅ If you are interested in becoming a member and attending our first meeting, please get in touch—we can nominate members as chairs of the group.
✅ Feel free to share this information with colleagues who might be interested in contributing to this initiative!
We look forward to shaping the future of innovative fishing gear research together. Let’s make a difference! 🌊⚓
#SustainableFisheries #InnovativeFishing #ICES #WGING
World Symposium on Fishing Gear and Fishing Vessel Design
/in blog, News/by Antonello SalaWorld Symposium on Fishing Gear and Fishing Vessel Design (2028): A worthy undertaking?
This blog seeks your feedback regarding a proposed World Symposium on Fishing Gear and Fishing Vessel Design in 2028. The last world symposium was held in 1988 in St Johns, Newfoundland, hence the proposed event could be used to celebrate this anniversary, reflect on changes since, and help guide the next 40 years.
While WGFTFB meetings cover a lot of ground, a World Symposium could attract a far greater number of participants, from a wider range of countries, and cover a wider range of topics. For example, a focus on fishing vessel design allows consideration of issues such as alternative fuels, propulsion systems, deck machinery, etc. I could imagine the event also focussing on sustainable development ie. economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability, and how the industry needs to adapt to increasing pressures and threats to remain viable for another 40 years and beyond.
At this time your feedback should focus on the perceived need/value/importance of such an event. I don’t see such an event would be a threat to WGFTFB given the wider breadth of topics to be covered, and no decision has been made about holding such an event such as date, timing, location, or content. Finally, your response does not imply you are interested in helping organise such an event; it simply serves to receive your feedback to help gauge if this is a worthy undertaking and if further time and effort should be spent on this concept.
I look forward to your response.
Best wishes
Steve
Dr. Stephen (Steve) Eayrs
Extension Officer (QLD)
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Based in Gubbi Gubbi country
WGFTFB24 photos
/in blog, News/by Antonello SalaFirst photos published on: https://wgftfb.org/media
The best is yet to come!
Send photos to the WGFTFB chairs: chairs@wgftfb.org
Final WGFTFB24 Book of Abstracts has been published
/in blog, News/by Antonello Sala2024 Annual WGFTFB meeting in Canada (3-7 June 2024)
We are excited to share the Book of Abstracts.
Presenting, events, and demonstrations will be in-person only.
We look forward to seeing you in St. John’s!
Paul Winger and the group at the Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada will be our hosts (https://youtu.be/GL6zFpDKKa4).
The current Chairs (Noëlle, Anto, and Jon)