It is said that the introduction of a new net measuring tool that is causing consternation among fishermen. Fisheries minister Richard Lochhead informed that tests on the electronic device, which replaced a traditional hand-held wedge-shaped block in September, had proved that it was reliable and trustworthy. He said that field trials show that there was no significant difference in meshes of less than 55mm.
On the other hand Shetland MSP Tavish Scott accused the government of having introduced the new gauge without any consultation with the industry. He also said the new gauge was too expensive, at £1,500 per unit, compared with £35 for the old wedge gauge. He was raising the matter after being contacted by Burra fisherman Willie Robertson, who skippers the Comrades.
But the minister’s claim that there is little difference in measurements between the old and new gauges does not compare with some fishermen’s experience. According to the skipper of one Shetland boat his net, which fisheries officers had passed as measuring 120 mm with the old gauge, measured just under 105 mm with the new one. It is told that the new gauges were expensive, costing ‘approximately £1,500 per gauge’ while the robust old wedge gauges cost approximately £35 per gauge when they were last purchased for enforcement officers some 15 years ago.
