Responding today (3 February) to the Scottish Government’s announcement of details of the interim days-at-sea scheme (Conservation Credits II), Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said:
“While we in Scotland are a step ahead with a year’s experience behind us of days-at-sea being managed from Edinburgh and not Brussels, we must not fail to recognise the stark reality that this year there is less available effort – or time at sea – to go round.
“The initial basic allocation includes a very severe reduction, particularly for some sections of the fleet. The changes in gear and in fishing patterns required to recover some of those days back will make a very real difference to commercial viability.
“The reason for these measures in the first place is to reduce – in a recovering stock – the total amount of cod removed from the sea. The Scottish industry has demonstrated a willingness to make this happen and will continue to do so. There will now be a period of consultation and the end result has to be a set of measures that will permit an industry that is already fishing sustainably to remain commercially sustainable as well.”
