Marine South East Chair becomes EU Ambassador of the Sea
Iain Shepherd was recently appointed EU Ambassador of the Sea, a role in which he will be promoting excellence in maritime affairs, working to improve understanding of the industry across the continent and helping to clarify and explain the concepts and ideas put forward by the commission thus informing national and regional debate. He will also be working to raise the profile of our industry in the wider forum.
As Ambassador he will have an opportunity to significantly increase co-operation between European countries, allowing us to preserve the maritime space in a productive and sustainable manner. One of the major issues arising over the last decade is security and a high level of integration will be required in the development of protection systems.
Another area that Iain will be concentrating on is the planning and management of the coastal zone. This will ensure the sustainable development of marine areas and coastal regions. He commented: “The debate on spatial planning continues; what we do know is that access to the sea for marine activities is a precious commodity that has evolved rather than been planned in the past. In the future, we need to think at least 20 years ahead, planning for what we need and ensuring that everyone who uses the seas has the correct access and infrastructure to support their activities in a sustainable manner.”
In his involvement with the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (Blue Book) Iain will help to bring the business opportunities that will arise out of future legislation to the South East. In conjunction with Marine South East and the Arc Manche region there are significant possibilities to make the SE a showcase for marine excellence and for our businesses to take a lead in designing and implementing the systems required for improved marine safety, environmental monitoring and security.
He will also be looking at the many different programmes that have been implemented in the various member states to address the skills shortage within the industry and encouraging a programme to review the national programmes to determine both best and most effective practice. Commenting he said; “This knowledge when shared can, I believe, allow us to make better progress and perhaps look in more detail at a Europe wide “Skills Passport”. That said I firmly believe that everyone in the Industry has a part to play in encouraging our young people to consider marine as their future”.
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