As per the press communiqué Scots fishermen are ready to accept further cuts to their industry as vital negotiations get underway in Brussels. EU fisheries ministers will thrash out quotas for the year ahead at the December Fisheries Council. It is told that the prawn fishing industry will be watching the developments closer than most. In recent years it has seen savage quota cuts and reductions in the numbers of days they are allowed to fish.
Prawn fisherman Robert Bain said that things are looking bleak for a lot of people in this job. A lot of the boys – good fishermen – have left the job to get work elsewhere where it’s guaranteed and you’re coming home with a guaranteed wage at the end of the week. It is feared there will be cuts to haddock and prawn quotas and further reductions in the number of days at sea.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead explained that against a very tough economic backdrop in 2009, these talks are even more important than ever. Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation told that they will work as closely as we can with government. The negotiations are expected to run for two days before an agreement is reached.
