Introduction:
We decided that the best time to hold a full-day (10 am – 4 pm) workshop for fishermen would be in January. We chose a location that was central to those who had confirmed their attendance.We had three facilitators at this workshop and three flip charts to capture everything that was said. Now, as some of you may know, when you get fifty fishermen in the same room, debates can be varied, vocal, and heartfelt.This raw emotion, the trust that this time, maybe, their hope is not going to be used, and that they will finally be the drivers of their destiny, was my honour and privilege to witness.
Following the workshop, a report was provided to the fishermen by the facilitators, so we could start to create a business plan for the organisation.The workshop report currently acts as our “bible,” in a manner of speaking, as we often refer back to it to make sure we are capturing all outputs as put forward by all attendees and actively incorporating those things into workstreams.
The fishermen didn’t just want to be heard; they built a structure that ensures they are. And all it took was one day, one workshop, and a clear direction of travel, with two unanimous, non-negotiable principles:
All Fishermens Are Created Equal
This may sound fundamental, but many organisations have been set up where the board controls the governance and workstreams. Our fishermen were resolute that if this was going to be a fishermen-led organisation, then all fishermen should have a say and a vote. From this membership, they themselves would nominate and choose who would sit on the board.
Fishermen Must Engage With The CIC
Again, this may sound fundamental, but we’ve all seen so-called “fishing representatives” speaking for the industry. Our fishermen recognised they would need a shore-based rep to engage for them. In the workshop, they chose to make answering surveys and providing information to the Executive mandatory. This ensures that when the rep speaks for them, they truly represent views gathered from the whole membership, not just a few dominant voices.
The Fishermen that there are already organisations formed in the traditional top-down approach. Butthis doesn’t mean you can’t change your Articles. It doesn’t mean you can’t create an affiliate membership, or an umbrella organisation, specifically for engagement and collaboration that gives fishermen the vote, the power to nominate and choose their representatives, and the power to be a crucial and vital part of fisheries management moving forward.
Introduction – Continued:
It is never too late to ask Fishermen for help. Ask them to give you the opportunity to show them that you are willing to give them the power, the lead, the respect to be at the forefront of the future of their industry. The best way to do this, is to gather them together for a meeting/workshop, and do exactly that.
Holding a workshop for fishermen was vital to gaining their commitment and buy-in for several reasons:
Opportunity for Discussion
The workshop provided fishermen with a platform to discuss their reasons for wanting to create the organisation and what they hoped to achieve.This open dialogue allowed them to voice their concerns, share ideas, and collectively shape the vision of the organisation.
Ownership and Pride
By participating in the workshop, fishermen felt a sense of ownership and pride. It was their decision and their choice to stand up and fight for the inshore fleet.This empowerment fostered a strong sense of responsibility and commitment to the cause.
Fishermen-Led and Governed
The workshop emphasised that the organisation would be fishermen-led and fishermen-governed, making it the first of its kind.This unique structure ensured that the fishermen’s voices would be heard, and their interests represented, further motivating them to support and engage with the initiative.
Introduction To The Workshop:
Planning and executing workshops:
Agreeing date and time for workshop (Season, time of day, length of workshop).
Researching and locating venues that offer free room hire
Finding facilitators to run the workshop
Key topics and activities to cover:
Why are we creating this organisation?
First year, two-to-five year, and five-to-ten-year goals and strategies
Potential workstreams
The Members:
Roles and responsibilities of members
Engagement through SurveyMonkey
Attendance at meetings
Membership criteria and benefits
The Board:
Forming a board of directors
Members vote on who will sit on the board and for how long they will serve
Governance and decision making process
Choosing the Right Type of Organisation:
Choosing the right legal structure for your organisation is a crucial decision that hinges on your specific goals, operational methods, and the people involved. Each type of structure comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks, and there is no universally perfect option for every group. Understanding these differences will help you make an informed choice that best suits your needs.
For more detailed information on various organisational structures, you can explore:
Overview of Lyme Bay Fisherman’s Conception Workshop – January 2022:
(A) Morning Session – Defining the CIC:
The main aims of the morning session were to establish foundational aspects of the Community Interest Company (CIC).The key topics covered included:
Defining the Name of the CIC:
Brainstorming and finalising a name that reflects the mission and values of the CIC.
A short discussion around the importance of the name of the CIC concluded that, as the area is well promoted and known to the public, policy makers and regulators, the name of the CIC should reflect this.
Defining the Sector the CIC Will Serve:
Identifying the specific sector or community that the CIC aims to support.There was a strong feeling from attendees that the fishing sector is well embedded into the communities in the local port/towns of each of the four areas and this could be of advantage to the CIC.The discussion moved towards which area of the supply chain the CIC should look to engage with initially –
Upstream (Policy makers, regulators, academia) or Downstream (processors, consumers, fishmongers etc).
A comment suggested that Downstream would be the focus for the CIC as this presented the greatest range of opportunities to promote and grow the CIC moving forward. It was felt that Upstream would naturally want to engage with the CIC as it would give these bodies and organisations access to a collective of commercial fishermen, therefore improving their own outreach capabilities. The importance of the CIC being able to engage with the academic sector was highlighted as the data tends to feed into Policies and Regulations.
The ability to engage the public in the commercial fishing fleet of Lyme Bay was also seen as very important. Several comments suggested that, since Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, the British public are more aware of the sector, but this is not always in a positive way. The CIC could be used to promote the seasonal nature of the sector within Lyme Bay and help raise awareness of the positive stories around the sustainability of the inshore fleet.
Defining Membership Criteria:
Establishing the criteria for individuals or organisations to become members of the CIC.
A lengthy discussion around the terms of membership for the CIC highlighted the need for it to focus on the geographic area of Lyme Bay and the commercial fishermen who fish there. There were some questions raised about those vessels that are not operated by the owner but have a skipper and crew to run the vessel. Attendees at the workshop were keen to ensure membership structure was kept as simple as possible, with a single membership available, but were open to future discussion about opening up affiliate memberships to those outside Lyme Bay.
Defining Member Obligations and Membership Categories:
Outlining the responsibilities of members and categorising different types of membership.
Questions were asked about how to ensure that members are actively engaged with the CIC. One of the Fisherman’s Associations in the area have a “probation” period for new members of 12 months. If engagement is lacking during this period, membership is revoked.
There was concern from some attendees that this might not be the way to proceed for the CIC and perhaps the Board of Directors could be used to ensure members engaged with the CIC. A member’s engagement with the CIC could be measured by actively responding to requests to surveys etc from policy makers, academia or regulators forwarded from the Board of Directors. However, it was pointed out that not all members may be able to respond, if the request didn’t apply to them, their vessel or method of fishing.Therefore, it was agreed that “not applicable” response would be classed as engagement, but this would be peer, CEO and Director monitored to ensure that if a response was possible from a member the “not applicable” response was not abused.
It was agreed that “Membership of the CIC will not preclude individual responses to consultation or information requests. Collective responses from the CIC will be complied by the CEO/Board of Directors and sent for review by members to ensure they reflect the overall views of the membership before submission”.
Removal of Members:
Discussing the process and conditions under which members can be removed from the CIC.
Over recent years the fishermen of Lyme Bay have gained a reputation for high quality, sustainable seafood and concerns were raised about this being damaged by negligent members of the CIC. Not only could this damage the reputation of the fishermen but it could also harm the CIC. This was seen as a key reason to ensure there was a structured process to remove members who might bring the name of the CIC into disrepute. The Fishermen’s Associations in the area have procedures in place which work well and are rooted in democracy, and this could be the basis for the process for the CIC. The following process was agreed:
A separate process was agreed for the conduct of the CEO. If members have concerns regarding this, they should report the reasons in writing (or via e-mail) directly to the Board of Directors.
Defining Roles and Responsibilities of the Board of Directors: Clarifying the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the board members.
Appointing and removing the Board of Directors:
A Board of Directors is required by law as part of the set-up process for a Community Interest Company. Discussions around the make up of the Board of Directors centred around the need to have a robust appointment and removal process. The term of service for a director was discussed with some attendees suggesting the Board should be refreshed every 12 months. However, the initial set up period of the CIC is likely to be intensive and it was suggested that three years would be a suitable time for a director to serve.To ensure the long-term success of the CIC a mechanism for removal of a directors was thought to be important.The following was agreed:
Recruiting The Board of Directors:
There was feeling in the room that appointed directors should, where possible, be responsible for a specific port although certain specialisms were recognised as being advantageous for Directors. In reality, the Directors should be by majority Fishermen and their specialisms confined to commercial fishing matters. It was agreed that a group of Specialist Advisers would be recruited at a later date to provide advice on certain topics of business e.g. marketing, accounting, legal matters or financial matters.There was concern that an even number of Directors could lead to an impasse if a decision was needed via Board of Directors vote. A decision was made that, in the event of a tied vote at Board level, the question would be posed to the full membership with the majority vote carrying the decision.
Communications:
Communications will be key to the success of the CIC. Engagement with the public and UK Government will help to ensure that the profile of Lyme Bay commercial fishing continues to be at the forefront of the sector.The CEO will compile and issue a quarterly newsletter for members, social media channels and the public.The CIC will have dedicated social media channels and a website, which can be used for further promotions.The social media channels will help engage with other Fishermen, and regulators, scientists, NGOs and other across online platforms.The website will add the ability to engage in a collective way with DEFRA and other fisheries authorities.
Allocation and ownership of assets:
As part of the legal requirements for setting up a Community Interest Company, arrangements must be made of what will happen to the assets of the CIC should it cease trading. After some discussion it was agreed that all assets would be gifted to The Fisherman’s Mission.
Defining the Use of the “Man in the Van” Service:
Planning the implementation and utilisation of this service within the CIC.
There is a current catch collection and delivery service which calls at the four ports across Lyme Bay. The service provides a convenient route to market for the fishermen of the area as catch can be left at the cold storage in each of the ports and collected anytime. There was general agreement that the Service was a benefit to the four ports, but concerns were raised over the capacity of the van and the ongoing costs associated with running it.
Discussion around how to ensure the Service at least covered its costs continued and it was suggested that there must be benefits to members of the CIC and this should include sole access to the Service.There is a need to ensure that the Service is as full as possible for each of the runs to maximise the value of it.Ways to reduce the overall costs of the Service to the CIC were discussed including “back loading” fish from the Market to buyers in the local area. As the CIC grows and becomes more successful it is possible to review the Service as needed.
Afternoon Session – Future Management and Goals of the CIC: – Continued:
After a break for sandwiches, the afternoon session focused on the future management and strategic goals of the CIC.The main aims of this session were:
Defining what the CIC will do for the Fishing Community:
Specifying the services and support the CIC will provide to the fishing community.
There was a strong feeling that the CIC will give the collective fishermen of Lyme Bay a strong voice with regulators and policy makers but will also provide these organisations with the opportunity to engage with a large number of fishermen at once, creating a two-way conversation between all stakeholders. There could also be added benefits such as increased profile of the low impact, sustainable fisheries in the area which, ultimately, could lead to an increase in income for members of the CIC. It was also thought that by creating the website and increasing engagement with the local community it would help to break down barriers and promote the sector to a wider audience. If the CIC is successful, the introduction of a schools’ outreach programme could help encourage new entrants to the sector and provide a conduit for the promotion of seafood across the Bay. This could have positive impacts on the local economy, such as tourism, and raise the profile of the area even further. Fish Festivals could be held at each of the ports on a rotational basis, building the brand of Lyme Bay Fisheries CIC, providing positive feedback for the members and their catch.
What will the CIC do for the Local Community?
Our fishermen were determined that our organisation, instead of being a limited company or charity, would chose the route of a community interest company (CIC) so that we could actively support and enrich the local communities in our area through various initiatives:
Setting Out Short, Medium, and Long-Term Aims and Ambitions:
During our initial workshop, we defined short, medium, and long-term goals for several important reasons:
What are the short-, medium- and long-term ambitions for the LBF CIC?
Short term – 12 months:
Immediate goals and actions to be achieved within the first year.
Medium Term – 2 – 3 Years:
Strategic objectices and milestones to be reached within three years:
Long-term – 3 years +:
Long-range vision and ambitions extending beyond three years:
Resources for this chapter are available to download on our website – www.lbfcic.com
For all supporting documents please use the links below:
Workshop Presentation – Directors Information
Directors Role Description and Person Specification
Company Memorandum (for company with share capital)
Community-Interest-companies-benefits-of-a-cic-leaflet
Community-Interest-companies-information-pack – temp
Core Start Up Costs – Template
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