This summary for policy makers presents findings from the ‘Conversations with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA)’ project, which, in 2024, interviewed over 70 IFCA staff and committee members to capture their reflections on how IFCAs are doing in terms of achievements, challenges, and opportunities to further strengthen IFCA capabilities. The interviews give new and detailed insights into the lived experience of delivering management of our inshore waters; the importance to IFCAs of ensuring a balanced and evidence-based approach to their management, clear successes in achieving effective management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) through DEFRA’s revised approach, and the operationalisation of co-management, which IFCAs deliver by their design, enabling quality assurance to management outcomes in IFCA districts. Collectively, the interviews serve as a compelling testimony to the benefits of regional fisheries co-management. Recognising achievement and strengthening capacity in the delivery of regional co-management of England’s inshore seas Conversations with the IFCA
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