The compromise offers little movement on the EC’s original proposal for a zero catch for cod, haddock and whiting on the West coast of Scotland, which would effectively close all fishing on the West coast. Cuts in the important West coast and North Sea langoustine quotas are also still on the table.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the UK and Scottish Governments is pressing for a ‘more intelligent’ approach to fisheries management on the West coast where the fleet will use more selective nets and fish avoidance measures to ensure the effective conservation of stocks.
Bertie Armstrong, SFF chief executive, said: “We do not dispute that West coast cod, haddock and whiting need action to ensure their recovery, but the current EC compromise will not achieve that aim and will also be unviable for the fleet.
“It is a top level objective of Scottish fishermen and the UK Governments to replace the Commission’s proposals with our own spatial and selectivity measures, which will enable the fleet to keep fishing, whilst at the same time protect key whitefish stocks.”
The other main priority at the fisheries negotiations is to secure a rollover of the current quota for langoustine (Nephrops) on both West coast and North Sea.
The talks are expected to continue into the early hours of Friday morning (19 December).
