With sections of the Scottish fishing fleet struggling to survive against a background of increasingly restricted fishing opportunity, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has laid down a challenge to the Scottish and UK Governments to urgently put resources into finding a solution.
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the SFF, says that fishermen are finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile their experience on the fishing grounds – where there is a relative abundance of fish – with the regulatory framework that governs fishing opportunity.
Mr Armstrong says it is vital that a concerted focus is now placed on both the immediate future and also on the current reform process of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The end result must be effective regional control with substantial fisheries management powers devolved to the most efficient and appropriate level so as to ensure effective application.
But Mr Armstrong warns there is still a lack of clarity as to what might be legally achievable under the reform of the CFP – and this unsatisfactory situation must be urgently addressed.
“The Scottish and UK Governments must address the very significant question of what is legally possible to achieve for regional management under the reform of the CFP – and then tell us their findings,” he said.
“There has been no clarity from either Brussels or the Government on this issue and they must now focus all their efforts in finding what is possible to achieve, so that a viable solution can be implemented that will secure the industry’s future. The status quo or tinkering at the edges is simply not an option, change must happen, otherwise sections of the fleet will find their business survival prejudiced.
“For the immediate future, regarding the current framework or rules and regulation, the overwhelming message from the quayside is that the rigid cod recovery measures are the source of the current effort limitation restrictions, despite the background of a recovering cod stock. No one is arguing that recovery measures need to be taken; however it is clear that the review of the plan due to begin at the end of this year must receive attention now.
“Huge efforts, in the form of area closures and adoption of selective gear have been made by fishermen in recent years and for fishermen to have confidence in Government and the EC, such efforts must be recognised in the way that the regulations are managed and developed.
“The Scottish and UK Governments must work with the industry to find the most efficient way of making maximum use of catch information from fishermen so as to bridge the gap between the abundance of fish that the fleet is encountering at sea and the management rules, which at the moment don’t reflect the actual situation on the fishing grounds. They must take this evidence into account and tell us what is legally possible to achieve in terms of a radically new approach to fisheries management.”
