The Working Group on Innovative Fishing Gear (WGING) collects and assesses information on the range of innovative fishing gears being used in commercial fisheries in the EU, in addition to determining what encourages or prevents the uptake of innovative gears across EU fisheries.
WGING works to review and compile information on the latest gear innovations that have been developed across European fisheries, identifying gears that improve catch efficiency and selectivity and reduce the impact on the environment from fishing. The group then works to better understand uptake of gears that are ready for deployment, assessing the socio-economic factors that may influence their use and widespread adoption by the fishing industry. The group aims to utilize expertise from a wide range of backgrounds including fishing gear technologists, social scientists, fishing industry representatives and fishing historians and adopts transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to successfully achieve its objectives. The outputs of the group are important help ensure the use of innovative fishing gear across Europe can be better encouraged.
