Director's Blog
Tuesday 24th March 2009
Well my entry onto my blog yesterday certainly stirred up some interest...it was even suggested to be controversial...me?...controversial?...never! Still, it does show that some people are reading my blog!
The NAFC Marine Centre is a charitable trust and we are currently reviewing our charitable deeds and objects as part of our wider strategic review. The first object of the trust, above all others, is to support the local fishing industries of Shetland through training and research activity. If there is a lack of knowledge on which our local skippers are having to make important decisions then it is our job to firstly point that fact out and then secondly to do something about it. Few people realise that Shetland is one of the largest players in both the UK fishing and aquaculture industries and the NAFC Marine Centre is committed to making sure that remains so long into the future. Controversial? Maybe but I suppose that depends on whether your a skipper of a local fishing vessel trying to make a living or a politician in Brussels.
Monday 23rd March 2009
The start of another week and I find myself thinking about the local communities who rely so heavily on the sea for their livelihoods. Shetland is very much dependent upon the sea and recent events have made that ever more apparent. Take for example the latest "fishing quota agreement". This will affect the local fleet significantly due to the reduction in "fishing effort" allowed. Yes, the skippers of the local boats can opt to use specific equipment and nets that are supposed to reduce the amount of small cod captured in order to increase their effort entitllement but very little scientific evidence underpins this. There is also the fact that unlike many other fisheries around the country the Shetland fishery is a multi-species fishery and the impact that using these "new nets" will have on the capture of Monk Fish and other commercially important species is unknown. So the fleet are having to make these critically important decisions in the dark. It is therefore really important that the NAFC Marine Centre does all it can to support the local fleet through this challenging period and provide all of the necessary information for the local skippers to make valued business decisions
Friday 20th March 2009
Well here it is...the end of another week. The time seems to be flying by there is just so much happening at the moment. We are currently involved in adopting and rolling out across the Marie Centre the EFQM system. EFQM stands for the "European Framework for Quality Management" and will help us to identify our strengths and the areas where we need to focus our attention if we are wishing to excel in our sector both nationally and internationally. This will cover all aspects of our business from customer satisfaction and care through to staff development and feedback. Each year we will carry out a comprehensive self assessment which should give us an accurate picture of where we think we are and how we think we are doing. Institutions like ours should be mature enough to accept that we do not always do things well and that there are areas that we could do better. the trick is to know what those areas are and work on them...and that is exactly what we intend to do...so watch this space!
Monday 16th March 2009
Here at the NAFC Marine Centre we are trying all different ways to enhance our communication both internally and externally. The Director's blog is one example but I thought I would take this opportunity to draw your attention to another.
Some of you may be aware of the recent explosion of "social networking sites" on the world wide web? Well the NAFC Marine Centre has developed a page on Facebook which allows past and present students to keep in touch with each other and also keep us updated on what they are up to. As many of our students go on to careers in the Merchant Navy and travel all over the world it can make for interesting reading.
If you're registered on Facebook then why not look us up...its just anpther way to keep up to date on whats going on at the Centre!
Tuesday 10th March 2009
I am currently working on a draft of the new Strategic Plan for the NAFC Marine Centre 2009-2014. This will be based on feedback obtained from all major stakeholders throughout December 2008 and January 2009 and will clearly identify the Vision for the Centre, the key strategic aims and objectives and also the Critical Success Factors against which we will measure our performance. This has been a very useful exercise for everyone as it has allowed us an opportunity to evaluate where we are at present, and where we want to be in 5 years time. We have also been able to review that vision against the Trust objects and deeds to make sure that we do not "drift" away from our initial reason for being...and that is to support the maritime industries of Shetland!
Monday 9th March 2009
Friday evening witnessed "The Fish Fiesta" being held at The NAFC Marine Centre. This is an annual event which is held in aid of "The Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen in Shetland". The event was a huge success with well over 80 tickets being sold. Every seat in the restaurant was full and the feedback regarding the quality of the food has been phenomenal. The proceeds from the evening are still being collected and counted but is likely to be in excess of '2,000. People are already asking if they can book tickets in advance for next year...