In this episode of the Fathom podcast, we hear from Kara Brydson from Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) and Paul Macdonald from the Scottish Fishermen's Organisation (SFO). FIS as an organisation that ‘brings together fishermen and other experts along the seafood supply chain, to champion innovation and try new things – to make Scottish fisheries more prosperous and sustainable.'

Kara outlines what innovation means to FIS and how FIS projects must be practical and impactful. What makes FIS different is they don't just fund other people's ideas, they ask difficult questions and figure out how they could do things differently, to actually make a change to Scotland's fishing industry.

Paul Macdonald detailed an exciting joint project between FIS, fishing organisations and the University of Aberdeen, where fishermen on the west coast of Scotland are piloting a software system to share information on unwanted catches of cod and whiting in ‘real-time’.  Paul explains that fishermen have been involved in every step of the mobile app's development which has helped to create something that fishermen want  and therefore has the potential to be ‘something that is of use and of value to the ones who will actually be using it.’

Could this Fathom episode spark a deeper conservation about the importance of true collaboration in successful fisheries science projects?

Episode links

Fisheries Innovation Scotland
Scottish Fishermen's Organisation
Real-time reporting app