The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) opened at the beginning of this month a decommissioning scheme for the Dutch fleet, backed by a €155 million fund.
A sticking point for the Dutch federations is that while vessels are scrapped and licences are taken permanently out of circulation, the expectation is that quotas attached to those vessels will also expire.
The Federations have been in consultation with the Ministry and with minister Henk Staghouwer – who subsequently stepped down from his post – towards maintaining those quotas for the use of the remaining fleet, although it has not been possible to push through an adjustment of the terms for decommissioning.
‘We have already expressed our dissatisfaction with the condition that all quotas (the quotas registered on the fishing vessel and the retained quotas) will lapse if the fishing vessel is decommissioned and this point was jointly reiterated by the federations during discussions with the ministry, and proposals were put forward for adjustments to the scheme,’ said a representative of de Nederlandse Vissersbond.
The authorities refused to budge, and de Nederlandse Vissersbond is advising fishermen seeking to apply for decommissioning to make a declaration that they object to the expiry of quotas and to reserve the right to pursue legal measures.
