Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page


APPENDIX C

Address by Mr. J-L. Gaudet,
Secretary to EIFAC

Honourable Minister, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity of addressing, on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, Dr. Addeke H. Boerma, and Mr. F.E. Popper, Assistant Director-General, (Fisheries), this second European Consultation on the Economic Evaluation of Sport and Commercial Fisheries. May I also tell you how much we appreciate the generous hospitality of the Government of Sweden, the host of this meeting. The arrangements you have made for this Consultation have been outstanding.

I find it particularly fitting to hold this Consultation in Sweden, a country which has performed pioneer work in this specific field. This Consultation will cover topics which have always been of great interest to FAO and its subsidiary body, the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC). I feel that it might be useful at this stage - without embarking upon too many details - to give you an overview of the events leading up to this Consultation.

At the First Session of EIFAC in 1960, the Commission agreed that the appraisal of the economic and recreational values of angling was a subject of wide importance to the Member Countries of EIFAC. At the Second and Third Sessions of the Commission, which were held in 1962 and 1964 respectively, a number of delegates emphasized the importance of undertaking economic evaluations of both sport and commercial fisheries in their countries. It was pointed out and underlined that research in this field could serve as examples to governments on the value of managing these resources in a sensible manner.

The discussions during the Fourth Session, which was held in 1966, concentrated on the economic evaluations of sport fishing and commercial inland fisheries. The Session was informed of the sport fishery situation in different member countries, which gave rise to lively discussions as to the management problems involved. It was emphasized that leisure time was increasing rapidly in most European countries, which enabled these countries to exploit sport fishing, both as a social and recreational activity and as a means to promote the expanding tourist industry, thereby earning foreign currency. However, appropriate management policies would be necessary if the resources were not to be overexploited. It was stated that it was essential to consider and work out an appropriate methodology in order to obtain a clear concept of the economic and social issues involved.

As a result of the deliberations and the conclusions drawn at the Fourth Session, a background paper on the economic evaluation of sport fishing, defining certain objectives, trends, concepts and methods in the actual literature in this field, was presented at the Fifth Session held in 1968. The Session reiterated the discussions and conclusions arrived at during the previous Session, and emphasized that sport fishing should be studied with modern behaviouristic methods in the context of recreation, bearing in mind the important commercial values involved.

Many delegates underlined the necessity of providing adequate information on research achieved in this field, which could promote better understanding of the problems involved in evaluating the importance of sport fishing and also to encourage such evaluations.

The Sixth Session in 1970 was informed of important achievements effected in the inter-sessional period. An Information Centre had been operated for some time at the Graduate School of Social Work and Public Administration here at Gothenburg. A considerable amount of literature on various aspects of the economic evaluation of inland fisheries had been assembled and contacts established with various European sport fishing organizations as well as with North American experts in this specific domain. Research and field work had taken place in many European countries. During the Sixth Session, the Commission went a step further and approved various recommendations insofar as management problems of sport fisheries were concerned. The most conspicuous result of these recommendations was the First European Consultation on the Economic Evaluations of Sport and Commercial Fisheries which was organized in The Hague in 1972 with EIFAC support, at the invitation of the Government of The Netherlands.

The Consultation approved a number of important recommendations to ensure future European progress in the study of the economic evaluation of sport and commercial fisheries. For a more detailed review of the various recommendations made, I have to refer the participants to the report of the aforementioned Consultation which has been distributed to the delegates. I only wish to mention that the report of this Consultation and its conclusions were discussed at the Eighth Session of EIFAC which was held in 1972. The delegates expressed their satisfaction with the work accomplished and recommended, i.a., that a second European Consultation be organized in 1975 to study the results so far achieved in this field. It was emphasized that special attention be paid to the sociological aspects implied.

The Agenda which has been prepared for this Consultation has taken these recommendations into consideration and aims at - as you will see - surveying a number of topics of great interest for the further recognition of the importance of sport fisheries and its development, particularly in Europe, but also in other parts of the world with a potential for this fishery.

I do sincerely hope that the Consultation will contribute toward clarifying our thinking on this most important topic and make it possible to formulate some basic recommendations of significance for future work in this field.

Before concluding, Honourable Minister, I should like to take this ideal opportunity to thank Sweden for the key role it has played in interesting European countries in the economic and social evaluation of sport and fisheries. I should like to pay tribute, in particular, to Dr. Ingemar Norling of the Graduate School of Social Work and Public Administration of Gothenburg, who in spite of many oppositions, has persistently and with great enthusiasm supported EIFAC's action in this field. It is thanks to Dr. Norling that we are here today, at a turning point for Europe in the study of the economic and social evaluation of sport fisheries.

The report prepared in 1968 by Dr. Norling reviewed for the first time European literature, research and field work in this field. It stated that very little research and systematic fact-finding had been carried out in Europe. Conversely, it was apparent that in the United States and Canada a substantial amount of applied research and field work had been carried out for at least 15 years. Consequently, EIFAC established immediate and lasting contacts with North America in both U.S.A. and Canada. These were supported by the presence of Mr. Tuomi from Canada at the First European Consultation in 1972 in The Hague, by the participation of Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands and EIFAC Secretariat at the Sport and Fisheries Statistics Workshop in Victoria B.C. in 1972 and again in Quebec in 1974. It is evidenced also by the presence here today of a strong delegation from U.S.A. and Canada.

To conclude, Honourable Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Director-General and on my own behalf, I wish you success in your deliberations and assure you that FAO and the Department of Fisheries will continue to follow with great interest this important field of work.

Thank you.


Previous Page Top of Page Next Page