With the crucial December meeting of EU Council of Ministers to decide upon catching opportunity for 2008 now looming, and the second round of the EU/Norway negotiations on shared stocks due to get underway tomorrow (21 November), the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) outlined its main priorities to UK ministers at talks held in London today.
The EU/Norway meeting that will commence tomorrow in Brussels will set the total allowable catches (TACs) of joint stocks and will form an important indicator towards the final fisheries management measures agreed by the EU Council of Minister in mid-December
At today’s meeting in London, the Federation told UK fisheries minister Jonathan Shaw and Scots fisheries minister Richard Lochhead (who participated via video-link) that the Scottish fleet could not endure any further cuts in the number of days at sea it is allowed to fish.
The current effort limitation measures were introduced to spur cod recovery and impact upon the operation of whitefish and prawn vessels working both the east and west coast fishing grounds.
“We need fish to catch and the proper time at sea to catch that fish,” said Bertie Armstrong, SFF chief executive.
“The fleet simply cannot sustain any further cuts in the number of days it is allowed to fish, particularly since there are now signs that the cod stock is recovering. These encouraging signs have come about due to very severe measures taken by the industry, including a 65% cut in the Scottish whitefish fleet between 2000 and 2004, along with the voluntary adoption of schemes such as closed areas and technical measures to allow more fish to escape from fishing nets.”
Also discussed were haddock and herring. Haddock is subject to management plan and a precautionary catch reduction of 15% is expected for next year. However, the SFF is calling for the adoption of a ‘banking and borrowing’ regulation to ensure continuity of supply for 2008.
For herring, the SFF urged for the quota to be set at a level that will ensure the continuation of sustainable fishing.
