Chief EU fisheries negotiators John Spencer and Andrew Thomson met with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation last week to give their assessment of the outcome of complex negotiations at the end of 2009 and start of this year on fisheries management measures for stocks that are shared with countries outwith the EU such as Norway and the Faroes.
The two men are at the frontline of securing the best deal for the EU on shared pelagic and demersal stocks and are closely involved in areas such as the Coastal States negotiations for blue whiting, Atlanto-Scandian herring, mackerel, as well North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission meetings and bilateral negotiations with Faroe Islands and Norway.
They gave an update to the SFF Executive Committee meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday 4 February of the current situation and prospects facing shared stocks for the coming year. The day before, they toured Alex Wiseman’s pelagic vessel, the Kings Cross. Alex is also chairman of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association.
Ian Gatt, president of the SFF said: “We were delighted that John Spencer and Andrew Thomson took the time to visit Scotland, which has helped to reinforce an already excellent relationship. The two men play a vital role in ensuring the EU gets the best possible deal when negotiating with other countries, which is particularly important for Scotland as we are a huge player in most of the fisheries concerned.
“They told us that the good working relationship that the EU negotiating team has forged with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the UK governments proved extremely beneficial during this most recent round of marathon negotiations.”
