Fish merchants have travel all the way from Scarborough to Grimsby to buy catches from Icelandic trawlers in a bid to cater for orders – due to town fishermen already fulfilling their quotas. According to the latest figures in the industry EU restrictions and political neglect are making fishing off the North Yorkshire coast unviable.
It is informed that the number of boats based in North Yorkshire capable of fishing for more than 24 hours has declined from around 100 just 25 years ago to four in Scarborough and six in Whitby because of economic pressures. Fish merchant Shaun Wood told that he drives to Grimsby from his Scarborough base four times a week to buy whiting from Icelandic fishermen for customers in Scotland – but he says the seas off the North Yorkshire coast are teeming with the fish.
He further said that the fishermen of Scarborough are not allowed to land them because they had already exhausted their annual whiting quota by the end of February. He noticed that there is plenty of whiting out there waiting to be caught, a feast of it. He opined that it is not as if it’s helping conservation – the whiting are still being caught but they are having to be thrown back in the sea dead.
Wood confirmed that the Icelandic government are pro-fishing and are sticking up for their industry. He expects the same from UK counterparts. He and other figures in the local fishing industry are disappointed that Conservative Euro MP Timothy Kirkhope failed to honour his commitment to attend a fishing summit organised by Scarborough Council at Robin Hood’s Bay last month.
