According to the NFFO it has reached broad agreement with Defra on the shape of a UK interim days-at-sea regime that will apply from 1st February until 30th April 2009. The Federation’s support for the arrangements hinges on a number of important conditions that Defra has agreed to address. It is informed that the interim arrangements are necessary to meet the terms of the EU cod recovery plan which requires a 25 percent cut in days at sea for vessels operating in the cod recovery zone but to leave flexibility to adapt the regime after April in light of experience.
The Federation opined that it has maintained its opposition to the principle of days-at sea restrictions as a constraint that increases the industry’s costs but that has failed to prove its credentials as a conservation tool. Now it is important to ensure that the new rules are applied in a way that causes least disruption to the fleets’ operations. It is told that the interim arrangements will apply on a UK basis, with some limited flexibility to take account of regional variations.
Experts believe that this scheme will provide maximum scope to take advantage of the provisions to “buy back” the 25 percent reduction. The establishment of a UK forum is said to oversee the effort arrangements, specifically to ensure that effort constraints are applied equitably throughout the UK.
