The first voluntary, real-time closure of a cod spawning ground was announced today by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead.
During a statement to the Scottish Parliament, when he updated MSPs on the outcome of the December Fisheries Council, Mr Lochhead said:
“This provides real, concrete evidence of the commitment Scotland is showing towards protecting North Sea cod stocks. We are working closely with industry and fishermen on this and we greatly value their co-operation. I believe that a successful scheme in Scotland will lead to it being adopted more widely across Europe.”
The full text of the Cabinet Secretary’s statement is below:
Introduction
Presiding Officer, I told this chamber in November when we debated our approach to the autumn negotiations that Scotland can rest assured that this Government will always treat our fishing industry as a major priority. With a Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment who represents the fishing communities of Moray and with a First Minister who for more than 20 years has represented Scotland’s most fishing-dependent constituency, no-one should have been too surprised!
I also made clear when this government came to power that we would bring a fresh approach for Scotland’s fishing industry and fishing communities. So, today, as evidence of that fresh approach and of the importance which we attach to fisheries, I want to make a statement on the outcome of the autumn fisheries negotiations. These negotiations are crucial to the livelihoods of Scotland’s fishing communities and to Scotland’s marine environment. I understand that this is the first time a statement has been made to Parliament after the negotiations giving members an account of what has been agreed.
In this statement, I want to range more widely than the December Fisheries Council, important though that Council is. I also want to report on the other negotiations which take place over the autumn such as the crucially important negotiations between the EU and Norway where so many key decisions are taken.
Before I go any further, however, let me pay tribute to the work of the Scottish fishing industry and to the environmental NGOs who contribute so much to the development of our fisheries policies. I am grateful for the wise counsel they gave me this autumn. Above all, I am grateful to them for the deep sense of responsibility they have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate. I also want to pay tribute to the Government officials who fought hard to secure a good deal for Scotland.
I believe that this sense of co-operation and partnership has allowed Scotland to grasp the initiative to deliver groundbreaking policy developments, which are profoundly influencing the debate, both within the UK and in Europe. These policy developments position us in a leadership role for the future. I am proud to report that Team Scotland came together magnificently this autumn, and I am grateful to all who played their part.
Aims for the negotiations
Presiding Officer, in the November debate on sea fisheries, I said that this government went into the autumn negotiations with two overarching aims. The first was to secure not just a fair and just deal for Scottish fisheries, but also to secure fishing opportunities that would ensure the fleet’s continuing profitability and allow it to plan for the future. The second aim was to secure a deal that promotes sustainability. I am pleased to report to Parliament today that we achieved both those aims.
Key achievements: Conservation Credits Scheme
Let me outline what I see as the key achievement of the autumn negotiations: the historic agreement which provides unprecedented flexibility to run our own days at sea scheme here in Scotland. This is a landmark breakthrough. It is the first time since the inception of the Common Fisheries Policy in 1983 that such significant management control has been passed back here to Scotland from Brussels.
We are already beginning to loosen the shackles of the CFP and one day we hope to shake ourselves free.
The new agreement allows us to establish what we will call the Conservation Credits Scheme. This scheme will give us the flexibility to reward our fishermen with additional days at sea where they can demonstrate that they are signed up to initiatives which have a positive impact on the conservation of fragile fish stocks.
These measures could include trialling and implementing new gear types to increase selectivity and to reduce the level of discards, as well as building on the innovative real-time closures schemes on which Scotland led last autumn.
In that connection, I am delighted to report today that the first real-time closure of a cod spawning ground was triggered at the weekend. This provides real, concrete evidence of the commitment Scotland is showing towards protecting North Sea cod stocks. We are working closely with industry and fishermen on this and we greatly value their co-operation. I believe that a successful scheme in Scotland will lead to it being adopted more widely across Europe.
The deal secured at December Council also included significant progress with respect to headline cuts in days-at-sea. For the West Coast nephrops fleet, the cut was reduced from 25% to 10% while for whitefish fleets can avoid cuts altogether by operating under our existing system of automatic licence suspensions and/or in the west of Scotland, by fishing beyond the French Line.
But the really significant point is that the issue of headline cuts in days at sea will no longer really be relevant to Scotland because our Conservation Credit Scheme allows us to work outside the Brussels-centred days-at-sea regime altogether.
The concept of the Conservation Credit Scheme was made in Scotland and delivered by Scotland. It was a hard-won achievement at December Council. It allows us for the first time to work together to devise and implement measures which are tailored to the particular circumstances encountered day-to-day by our fishermen at sea. But don’t just take my word for it. This is what others had to say.
Mike Park of the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association said: “This deal marks a new era for Scots fishermen. This is our opportunity to show that we are a responsible industry that wants to build a sustainable future for our seas.”
Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said: “One of our key aims was for Scotland to gain influence over the administration of a separate effort management scheme that will provide flexibility. This has been achieved and will hopefully pave the way for more effective fisheries management in the future”.
WWF said: “The greater power Scotland will have over fisheries”.
Let me make clear, however, that the deal we secured from Brussels and our Conservation Credits Scheme will be no easy option. It brings with it real responsibility. Scotland now has to deliver and show the rest of Europe that we achieve and maintain sustainable stocks not least sustainable North Sea cod stocks.
Many will be watching how we deliver on these new freedoms. We must grasp this opportunity to demonstrate that our way is better. This is not about increasing effort regardless of the impact on fish stocks. It is about showing that we can reduce mortality and discards through other means than Brussels’ tired old recipe of blunt cuts in days at sea.
Scotland has won a major prize of securing more responsibility for what we do. But with that prize comes the responsibility to show that we are up to the challenge. And I am confident that we will rise to that challenge. I believe we can deliver together.
To take forward this initiative, we have already convened a steering group comprising industry, conservation and scientific representatives. We are making good progress towards having the first stages of the scheme up and running by 1 February. And I am clear that the full involvement of steering group and the fleet as a whole is essential to making sure we design a scheme which is good for the conservation of our fish stocks; good for our marine environment; and good for our fisheries industry.
TACs and quotas
Of course, the autumn negotiations covered many more issues than just days at sea. TACs and quota issues are vital to Scotland’s fishing communities and to the sustainability of our stocks. I was particularly pleased to see an increase of 11% in the North Sea cod quota in the EU-Norway negotiations. This is the first increase in the quota for 10 years and is long-awaited, tangible evidence that the tide is finally beginning to turn.
Turning to other important North Sea stocks, I was pleased to see an 8% increase in the megrim TAC given the high value of this stock and its importance to the Shetland fleet in particular.
On North Sea whiting, the original scientific advice was for a 80% cut in the TAC. So, the final 17% cut in the TAC represents a significant achievement and secures important fishing opportunities for the whitefish sector. We also successfully resisted a Commission attempt to push through draconian mandatory gear measures which could have had a serious impact on our nephrops fleet.
On North Sea haddock, the combination of invoking Hague Preferences and of securing a substantial quota transfer from Norway meant that we were able to restrict the reduction in the quota to 13%. Even with that cut, we will have more haddock quota in 2008 than we landed in 2007.
On North Sea herring, the scientific advice was particularly gloomy, and painful decisions had to be taken. I am disappointed that the unanimous recommendation of the pelagic Regional Advisory Council for a 35% cut in the quota was not implemented in the EU-Norway negotiations. However, we need to keep a sense of perspective here. Mackerel still dominates pelagic returns. And the 18% increase in the atlanto-scandian herring quota is also to be warmly welcomed.
But I recognise that the pelagic sector does face real challenges in 2008. I plan to meet with the sector shortly to discuss how we can offer support to this industry which through its processing sector is the employment life-blood of many of our fishing communities.
A key priority for 2008, therefore, is to prepare for the vital pelagic negotiations in the year ahead, particularly on blue whiting and on improving the way our fishermen can contribute their knowledge to the scientific assessment of the mackerel stock.
Turning to the West Coast, while there were disappointing decisions on cod and haddock at December Council, there was a particularly satisfactory decision on Rockall haddock, where the 2008 TAC increased by 50%. This is a vital “safety valve” stock which offers some of the sector significant fishing opportunities away from the North Sea.
There was also a satisfactory decision on West of Scotland herring. The scientific advice was for a 56% cut in the TAC which would have had a serious impact on parts of the fleet. The 20% cut was achieved thanks to the hard work of the Scottish Fishermen’s Pelagic Association which led on the development of a revised management plan for the stock. Without the work of the Association, we simply would not have achieved this satisfactory outcome. And I pay tribute to the leadership.
Let me pay tribute to what I earlier called “Team Scotland”. This was my first December Council as Cabinet Secretary even if it was anything but my first attendance at Council. The hard-won successes were a direct result of industry and government working together as Team Scotland.
I also had a good working relationship with my Ministerial colleagues in Belfast, Cardiff and of course London both in the run-up to the Council and in Brussels itself. We worked very well together at times although Scotland was never afraid to take a robust stance where required.
I also believe that this government’s pressure on London to improve the decision-making processes paid dividends. We had crisper, more transparent processes in place as a result of this government’s pressure. And, quite simply, we got a better deal as a result.
But it is clear too that the wider negotiating situation needs to be improved. The Brussels negotiating processes are torturous: 25 Commission officials manning seven computers in a small room working through the night to come up with compromises on 136 stocks for a score member states is no way to do business and no way to decide the future of our fishing communities.
However, none of this removes the case for Scotland being in the lead UK role in fisheries negotiations. If anything, the December Council brought home to me the strength of our case.
It brought home to me how much more we could achieve if we had even greater influence.
Nations the same size as Scotland or even smaller, Estonia and Malta, sit either side of the United Kingdom in the Council Chamber at the top table. When I see them taking their place at the top table of European negotiations, I fail to understand why anyone could say that Scotland, with so much of Europe’s fishing waters off its shores, should be denied its rightful place alongside them.
Turning to the year ahead, it’s clear that 2008 will be a year of many challenges. Tough decisions lie ahead of us in driving down cod mortality; in reducing discard rates; in implementing our Conservation Credits Scheme and in rising to the challenges facing the pelagic sector.
But I am confident that the cooperation and mutual respect between government and fisheries stakeholders which has developed in recent months will continue to bear fruit. I am confident that we in Scotland can rise to the challenges we face and that we will continue to demonstrate leadership for the whole of Europe.
But let’s be clear that 2008 also brings with it many opportunities. Next week sees the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Fisheries Council which will set the framework within which the sector as a whole can advise me on the best way forward for Scotland.
Next week also sees the first meeting of the Sustainable Seas Taskforce which will consider marine legislation that can balance the competing interests of the user and protection of our seas at the same time.
And in 2008 I will also take forward our vital work on the future of fisheries management which will explore more democratic and suitable alternatives to the discredited Common Fisheries Policy.
In 2008 we must also build on our new approach to inshore management as inshore fisheries group pilots are established and as we develop new strategies to deliver more benefit from non-quota stocks such as crabs, lobsters or scallops.
I also want to see licensing and quota management arrangements in place which are properly tailored to our sector in Scotland, explicitly recognising the importance of fishing to Scotland while providing stability for the future.
On Marine Stewardship Council accreditation, almost 50% of Scotland’s key fisheries by value are embarking on the journey towards gaining this vital gold-standard accreditation. I look forward to seeing great progress being made this year towards that important goal. I am sure that we all increasingly recognise that sustainability is increasingly the key to the marketplace.
We must grasp these challenges as they arise in 2008. We must continue to demonstrate leadership to the rest of Europe.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Presiding Officer, Members may remember that the debate on sea fisheries which took place in this chamber in November was attended by 10 aspiring skippers currently training at Banff and Buchan College in Fraserburgh.
I had the pleasure of meeting them after the debate and was delighted to hear of their enthusiasm for the sector and of their optimism for the future. I said in the debate that day that I believe that it is government’s responsibility to ensure that these young men can join a sector with a bright future. I believe that the hard-won deals secured in the autumn negotiations help lay the foundations for a brighter future for those young aspiring skippers; for our industry; and for our marine environment.
Scotland today stands at the forefront of a new era of sustainable fisheries. It’s clear to me that Scotland punches above its weight. And it’s clear that we should take pride in the leadership shown by the Scottish fleet.
We are surrounded by a priceless marine environment which gives us some of the most productive fishing waters in the world.
Our waters produce a primary product which is in world-wide demand and which we should all take pride in. Yesterday I launched the National Discussion on the future of food for Scotland of which our fishing community can play a central role.
I firmly believe that the Scottish industry is sailing into calmer waters after too many years of pain and instability even if there remains a sense that for as long as we are in the CFP we have to prepare for new storms around the corner. I am confident that we can deliver the greater certainty, optimism and hope that we promised our fishing communities. In the course of 2008 we will demonstrate to the rest of Europe that Scotland is not only committed to the goal of sustainable, profitable and well-managed fisheries but that Scotland now has the leadership and the ability to finally make that goal a reality.
