ANNONCER
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation is vigorously opposing the automatic reduction in the number of days that fishing vessels can put to sea that is set to come into force in 2012 under European regulations. SFF Member Associations have made their feelings very clear, repeating the strongest possible message of rejection from the quayside.
The NFFO’s Executive Committee met recently in York to deal with a heavy workload of issues confronting the fishing industry.
Scottish whitefish sector leaders have called for a swift end to the “mad2 approach to recovery plan.
Chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association (SWFPA) said serious flaws in Brussels-led efforts to protect Cod stocks in the European Union were widely acknowledged.
UK fisheries administrations are currently carrying out discussions on establishing a revised agreement related to the way responsibilities for the management of fishing activity within the UK are distributed.
Fishing leaders in Scotland have expressed delight after the European Commission ditched a controversial plan to cut some fish quotas automatically.
The proposal to chop catch limits by a quarter or 15% where there was a lack of scientific data on fish stocks had provoked fury with many member states voicing concerns.
European Commission proposals for fishing opportunities for 2012 for certain stocks in the Atlantic and North Sea contain further grim news for the Scottish fleet, particularly on the West coast, and represent another missed opportunity for sensible fisheries management, says the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.
Last week’s poor weather conditions disrupted fishing trips and the levels of whitefish landings at Peterhead Fish Market Scotland’s Premier fishing port were lower than usual with around 5400 boxes were landed at the port for the first two day’s markets Monday and Tuesday September 19-20.
A lifeboat from Wicklow in Southern Ireland was launched to go the aid of a Irish beam fishing trawler The Bridget Carmel WD39 that was involved in a collision with a large tanker some 29 miles East of Wicklow Harbours.
The idea of capping effort in the UK crab and lobster fisheries has been in circulation for many years without making any significant headway. The scientific argument for a cap is that whilst we don’t know with any degree of precision how close we are to the tipping point, the continuous expansion in fishing effort in the crab and lobster fisheries (measured in terms of the increasing number of pots in the water) could seriously jeopardise stocks if the current favourable environmental conditions are discontinued.
Scots fishermen have been spearheading a range of initiatives to reduce the problem of discarding of fish at sea – including the use of more selective types of nets and real time fishing closures.
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