Regional Inshore Fisheries Group: evaluation

Annex A: Survey script for RIFG review

We want to hear from individuals and organisations involved in the inshore fishing industry in Scotland. Your views will be used to evaluate Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups (RIFGs) and for researchers to make recommendations on their future.

RIFGs were established in 2009 with the purpose of giving inshore fishers a voice in inshore fisheries management. Each RIFG is chaired by an individual appointed by the Scottish Government, but the groups are independent of Government. There are six RIFGs in Scotland: North East, North West, South West, Orkney, Shetland, and Outer Hebrides. The survey will look into the impact of RIFGs, their remit and organisation, as well as the future. The survey is conducted by the Marine Analytical Unit, a group of social researchers, economists, and data analysts based in the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government. Closing date: 30th April 2024 Estimated completion time: 12-15 minutes How we will use your data: Your responses will be analysed by researchers in the Marine Analytical Unit and the findings used to produce an evaluation of the RIFG network. Your individual responses will not be published in the evaluation report and we will aim to remove any information which could personally identify you. In addition, we are looking to build a database of fishers who are willing to be contacted for occasional research conducted by the Marine Analytical Unit. This is entirely voluntary and does not affect your involvement in the RIFG evaluation. If you are a fisher and consent to be included in the database, at the end of this survey you will be asked to provide a name, vessel grouping, email address, and phone number. If we contact you, you can choose if you want to participate in that specific project or not, and you can ask to be removed from the database at any time in the future. You would not be asked to participate any more than twice in any given year. Your involvement in the database would be valuable to ensure fisher’s perspectives are incorporated into evidence. The completed questionnaire and any personal data that you provide will be held in strictest confidence, and will be securely stored in the Scottish Government document management system and deleted after 5 years. With regard to the database of contacts, at the end of five years we will contact you to ask if you are willing to remain on the database for another period of time or if you wish to be removed from it. Again, this will be entirely voluntary. The data will be processed by the Scottish Government. There is the possibility some data will be processed by a third party for transcription purposes only.

For more information, please contact the Marine Analytical Unit at MarineAnalyticalUnit@gov.scot

If you have concerns about how your personal data is being processed and handled please contact the Scottish Government Data Protection Officer at DataProtectionOfficer@gov.scot

Section 1 – Data Protection and consent

1. I have read and understood the information provided in the 'How we will use your data' section above and I consent to my responses being used for the purposes outlined.

• Yes
• No

2. I understand that any information I give will be treated confidentially and securely, in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Act.

• Yes
• No

Section 2 – About you

3. What is your role in relation to the inshore fisheries sector in Scotland? Please tick one box:

• Fisherman – skipper and boat owner
• Fisherman – skipper, do not own boat
• Fisherman – crew
• Boat owner – do not fish
• Organisation representing the commercial fishing industry
• Organisation representing relevant interests outside of the commercial fishing industry
• Seafood processing / other ancillary seafood sector
• Other third sector organisation
• Public sector

4. What fishery office are you administered by?

• ___________________________
• N/a

5. Of the six RIFGs, which one are you most closely associated with?

• North and East Coast
• North West Coast
• Orkney
• Outer Hebrides
• Shetland
• South West Coast
• All
• Not sure

6. Are you a member of any government initiated stakeholder groups that relate to the fishing or marine industry in Scotland? Please tick all that apply.

• Fisheries Management and Conservation Group (FMAC)
• Marine Planning Partnership
• Other (please specific)
• None

7. Please specify which other government initiated stakeholder groups that relate to the fishing or marine industry in Scotland are you a member of?

Section 3 – Your engagement with the RIFGs

8. Are you aware of Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups?

• Yes
• No

9. Have you been involved with the Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups in the past 5 years? i.e. attended a meeting, received email updated, spoken to a RIFG Chair.

• Yes
• No

10. How have you been involved in the RIFGs in the past 5 years? Please select all that apply.

• I was a RIFG Chair prior to 2023
• I’ve attended one meeting in the past 5 years
• I’ve attended two or more meetings in the past 5 years
• I receive email or verbal updates about the RIFG
• Worked to a voluntary agreement established by an RIFG
• Other
• Not relevant

Section 4 – Theme 1: Remit

Since January 2023, the RIFG remit is:

a) ‘To improve the sustainable management of inshore fisheries and’,

b) ‘to give commercial inshore fishers a voice in wider marine management developments.’

11. Were you aware of the remit of the RIFGs?

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

12. Do you think the current remit is the right remit for a government initiated stakeholder group which concerns inshore fisheries management?

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

13. Please explain your answer.

14. In your view, has your local RIFG contributed to a) ‘improving the sustainable management of inshore fisheries’ in the past 5 years? Please indicate using the below scale, where 1 means a low contribution, and 5 means a high contribution.

15. Please explain your answer and give examples where possible.

16. In your view, has your local RIFG contributed to b) ‘giving commercial inshore fishers a voice in wider marine management developments’? Please indicate using the below scale, where 1 means a low contribution, and 5 means a high contribution.

17. Please explain your answer and give examples where possible.

Section 5 – Theme 2: Overall impact

18. In your view, what impact have RIFGs had on inshore fisheries management? Please indicate using the below scale, where 1 star means a low or no positive impact, and 5 stars means a high positive impact.

19. In your view, what are the main benefits of the RIFG network in its current form?

20. In your view, what are the main drawbacks of the RIFG network in its current form?

21. In your view, what are the main changes that need to happen, if any, to make the RIFG network more effective?

Section 6: Theme 3: Organisation

The current organisational arrangement of the RIFGS are as follows:

• RIFGs are non-statutory groups, this means that RIFGs are not established in legislation and therefore their role is not fixed and they cannot implement legal binding regulations.
• RIFGs are organised into 6 geographic regions
• Membership includes fishers or organisations which directly represent fishers
• RIFGs are led by a chair person funded by the Scottish Government and a limited amount of funds for discreet projects; some groups win funding from other organisations.

22. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements. Please use the scale of 1 to 5 below where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly agree.

23. Please share the reasoning for your answers to the previous question.

24. To what extent do you think RIFGs engage effectively with relevant organisations? Please use the scale of 1-5 below where 1 is very ineffective, 2 is ineffective, 3 is neutral, 4 is effective, and 5 is very effective.

25. Please share the reasoning for your answers to the previous question.

Section 7 – Theme 4: Future

26. Do you think RIFGs play a role in the future of inshore fisheries management?

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

27. Please explain your answer.

28. What do you think is the best forum for the views of inshore fishers to be heard by the Scottish Government?

29. If RIFGs are to continue for the foreseeable future, what do you think should be the top priorities of the RIFGs in the next 5 years? Please select what you think are the top two priorities.

• Providing the forum for fishers to engage with Government about the management of inshore fisheries
• Developing localised management approaches
• Working towards recovery of key inshore stocks
• Trialling new technologies and new approaches
• Promoting fishing as an attractive career
• Working with fishers to mitigate gear conflict
• Working with the Marine Directorate to support Compliance initiatives.

30. Please use this space to write any further views you have on the RIFG network which you do not think have been captured in the survey.