The case for a distinctive Scottish approach to fisheries management was outlined by Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead today.
Mr Lochhead outlined his views, based on greater power and decision-making for Scotland, on the day the European Commission’s Green Paper on Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was published.
The document is being formally presented to Member States by the Commission at this week’s April Fisheries Council in Luxembourg, with a full discussion scheduled for May Council.
Some of the main issues covered in the paper include:
The impact of overcapacity across European fleets as a whole and how this should be addressed
How to better integrate fisheries policy with other marine policy obligations
The need to reduce short-term management of fisheries and clarify long-term objectives
How to promote greater industry contribution to and responsibility for the management of fisheries; and
What role, if any, there should be for aquaculture within the revised CFP
Earlier this year the Scottish Government launched the Inquiry into Future Fisheries Management. The inquiry team is currently developing alternative models of managing Scotland’s fisheries to the CFP which will best suit the unique circumstances of the Scottish fishing industry. It’s findings will shape Scotland’s formal response to the European proposals.
Mr Lochhead said:
“This wide ranging paper identifies some of the problems that we have been highlighting for years, such as the devastating impact of micromanagement on our vital fisheries industry.
“I welcome its publication and the opportunity that it provides to improve future fisheries policy.
“We remain committed to the development of a model which is best suited to Scotland’s needs. Those who are best placed to protect our precious fishing stocks are those with the greatest interest in them. Therefore it is fundamentally wrong for landlocked Member States and others with no interest in crucial Scottish fisheries, to have a decisive say over how that resource is managed. Greater power over fishing policy must be returned to Scotland.
“It is important that all stakeholders seize the opportunity to have an open and far reaching debate over the entire future of EU fisheries policy.
“We want to engage positively in this debate, identify viable alternatives and help provide a brighter future for the industry. That is crucial for all of Scotland given the importance of the fishing industry to our national economy.
“This week in Luxembourg I will continue to press for the need for a distinctive Scottish approach to fisheries management.
“Scotland holds 70 per cent of the UK’s fisheries and is the EU’s most important northern European fishing grounds, it’s vital that we get fisheries policy right. Over the next few months I look forward to discussing the future of fisheries policy with representatives of our fishing communities as well as those responsible for fishing policy in London and Brussels.”
