Marcin Rucinski, who has spent more than a decade focused on fisheries issues within the Polish administration, is the new Baltic and North Sea coordinator for Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE).
LIFE is an umbrella organisation which aims to provide a clear and coherent voice at EU level for small-scale fishermen. These fishers comprise over 80% of the European fisheries workforce and tend to use low impact fishing gears and methods, but they have suffered from lack of representation in Brussels and at Member State level.
Rucinski said that he was “impressed by the synergy between promoting small-scale fisheries and conserving the environment, which LIFE so nicely encapsulates”. Moreover, he argues that competition, in different facets, provides the context for understanding the difficulties the small-scale sector faces as well as the opportunities available.
Rucinski has recently departed as head of the Chair of BALTFISH and the Helcom fish working group. With his extensive experience and contacts in the field of fisheries management, members of LIFE will certainly have a strong voice to represent them.