For far too long, small scale inshore fishermen along the Devon and Dorset coast, had felt that policy and regulation was done to them, not with them. Although all the ports had ad-hoc Fisherman’s associations, the four ports of Axmouth, Beer, Lyme Regis and West Bay were rarely stops on regulator visits or chosen as sites for regional meetings. With most of the fleet being single handed and owner operated, there was little time to engage individually with consultations, let alone come together to find consensus nor to work on projects across their communities.
But late in 2022 fifty fishermen from the four ports came together with the idea of creating a fisherman’s led community interest company to deliver better engagement and act as a representative body for all of them. Lyme Bay Fisherman’s Community Interest Company (LBFCIC) was born, a collective across the four ports to work together on having their voices heard in the right places and do work jointly on projects.They are potters, netters, trawlermen, scallop divers and anglers, and as you might expect their individual views can be competing and conflicting, but for over two years now, LBFCIC has been a strong voice, and a brave champion of these hard-working fishermen.
Now, with the help of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS), Fishmonger’s Company Charitable Trust and Sea-Changers providing the funding so that these pioneering fishermen could create a comprehensive how-to guide to provide a step-by step route for other fishermen around the coast to follow the path of LBFCIC if they want to.
This how-to-guide will support other fishermen across the UK who have no representation find their voice. There were so many things we came across on this journey that we had no experience in, no knowledge of, and so we had to navigate our way through these processes, sometimes easily, and other times with difficulty. But we maintained our course, we knew that if we were successful, if we could demonstrate truly transparent representation and engagement from the bottom up, we would be able to encourage others to do the same.
Our hope is that this guide not only supports fishermen in navigating the practical challenges of organising and advocating for themselves but also inspires a wider movement. We want to empower other fishermen across the UK to take similar steps—to find their voice, to unite, and to lead from the front. A truly grassroots organisation that empowers Fishermen and provides the ability to work together in future, with Fishermen at the forefront of fisheries management and policy while being developed and delivered.
By working together, we can preserve our way of life, protect our marine environment, and ensure that our coastal communities continue to thrive for generations to come. The future of inshore fishing lies in our hands, and together, we can shape it.
To make this guide as useful and accessible as possible, we’ve broken it down into individual chapters.We know that some readers may want to follow our journey step by step, while others—especially those already involved in similar work—might only be looking for specific insights or tools. By organising the guide this way, you can easily navigate to the sections most relevant to your needs.
At the end of each chapter, you’ll find the list of documents and resources that support that chapter’s content. For convenience, we’ve also compiled all of these materials in a comprehensive glossary at the end of the guide. On our website (www.lbfcic.com) you’ll find links to each chapter and the glossary, as well as a downloadable PDF version of the full guide.
Please use the button below to download the full guide
