The meetings enabled fishermen and other stakeholders, including sea fisheries committees to talk directly to the MMO and Defra about the impact of the closure, and to contribute ideas about how the quota for this fishery might be managed differently in the future.
The MMO and Defra would like to thank all those attending for their constructive contributions to the discussion.
Liz Humphreys, Chief Marine Officer for the MMO said “A rich and wide range of issues, concerns and views were forthcoming at all four meetings. The MMO will publish a summary of all the points raised within the next couple of weeks. One issue which emerged consistently was that it is preferable for us to keep a fishery open, albeit at a very low monthly catch level, than to close it altogether. We will be considering whether we can adopt this approach for next year.”
Chris Parry, Chair of the MMO said “Quotas are set annually by the European Council and the MMO has the difficult balancing task of ensuring that stocks are managed throughout the year to maximise the fishing opportunities for the UK industry, whilst ensuring that stocks are not overfished and the UK government and taxpayer avoids the possibility of steep penalities.”
The MMO are keen to encourage those with views on quota management to contact the MMO Quota Management Team on 0191 376 2595 or by emailing fmc@marinemanagement.org.uk
