The NFFO’s Executive Committee met recently in York to deal with a heavy workload of issues confronting the fishing industry.
Cod Recovery and Effort Control
Top of the list was the now desperate situation faced by vessels subject to the EU Cod Management Plan. These fleets face pre-programmed reductions in quotas and days-at-sea, despite the fact that scientists have ruled the Plan not fit for purpose and the European Commission has ceased to defend it. At a recent meeting the NFFO urged Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon to intervene to secure a pause to the automatic reductions, whilst a revised plan can be sorted out in the longer term.
TACs and Quotas
Following a productive meeting with Defra officials, the Executive finalised its positions on TACs and Quotas for next year. In general terms, and with a few important justifiable exceptions, the NFFO can support following the scientific recommendations but is insistent that the Commission’s fundamentalist approach to TACs, and its wrongheaded approach to dealing with data-poor stocks through TAC cuts, must be solidly rejected.
Shellfish Policy
The NFFO’s position paper on Shellfish Policy was formally adopted. It addresses the problem of latent capacity in the high-catching, offshore, part of the fleet and argues for the importance of retaining flexibility in the inshore sector. The toolbox approach to technical measures is an important part of the paper, which will now be presented to government. It is hoped that this new initiative will break the logjam that has held up progress on shellfish policy because of its focus on over-complex approaches such as a national pot limitation scheme or the introduction of shellfish quotas.
Marine Conservation Zones
The Committee heard back from a meeting of the MPA Fishing Coalition which met recently with Natural England, Defra and the MMO. The Coalition has successfully challenged Natural England’s claims to have a management role (as well as an advisory and “stakeholder” role) and questioned the quality of the evidence- base on which a network of 178 marine protected areas is to be established in UK waters. Natural England was also challenged to say whether it agreed with the MMO’s robust response to Client Earth/Marine Conservation Societies to expel all fishing vessels immediately from candidate SACs.
