Overturning the European Commission’s ‘disproportionate’ proposal to close all fisheries on the west coast, and protecting the local economies they support, is the Scottish Government’s priority at this week’s December Council.
Securing a rollover on the important prawn (nephrops) quotas and gaining a sustainable increase in monkfish and megrim quotas are the other key goals.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead, who flies out to Brussels tomorrow morning, said:
“It is no secret that this year’s science for whitefish stocks on the West Coast is difficult, however the Commission’s proposal to close all fisheries on the west coast is completely unacceptable.
“I have made it clear that we are ready to act to ensure sustainable fisheries on the west coast and we have put forward a robust counter-proposal. The Commission agreed to consider alternative Scottish solutions which protect our valuable and sustainable nephrops fisheries, worth around £45 million on the west coast, and also offer additional protection to stocks at risk.
“By working with, and listening to, fishermen the Scottish Government has put forward a coherent and positive package of measures which are not based on blunt closures, but on clever ways of operating.
“The package includes the use of larger nets, selective gear inside nets which increase the number of whitefish able to escape and increased use of real time and season closures on the west coast – which have proven very effective in the North Sea.
“It is imperative that the measures taken do not close a vital sector of the Scottish fishing industry and the communities they serve from Campbeltown to Stornoway. We in Scotland have shown this year that there are much better ways of ensuring sustainable fisheries.”
The EC has published proposals which would see close nearly all west coast fisheries out to the 200 metres depth curve (roughly 130 miles from Oban) and make the nephrops fisheries unviable. This is in response to the recent scientific advice from ICES which advises that their should be a zero catch of cod, haddock and whiting on the west coast.
The Scottish Government does not dispute the overall conclusion of the scientific evidence (despite a 75 per cent reduction in whitefish fishing effort on the west coast in the last 10 years). However, whilst acknowledging that whitefish stocks on the west coast are in trouble, the Scottish Government believes the Commission proposal is an over-reaction.
In broad terms it is estimated that it would hit around 25 whitefish vessels on the shelf edge, around 50 mixed fishery vessels inshore and around 275 inshore nephrops vessels.
West coast landings are worth in total up to £85 million:
Nephrops £45 million
Northern Shelf Monkfish £25 million
Scallops £6 million
Haddock £5.5 million
Rockall Haddock £2.5 million
Megrim £1.9 million
Cod £0.6 million
Whiting £0.4 million
The Scottish Government believes loss of income would devastate west coast fishing communities from Campbeltown to Stornoway where small fishing ports are reliant on regular landings of nephrops and scallops.
If fishing is stopped it is likely that the port infrastructure (particularly buyers and markets) would start to unravel, e.g. Seafood Scotland predict it would wipe out the scampi (nephrops tails) market. The eight or nine major companies involved in nephrops processing employ up to 500 full time equivalents.
