The agreement sees reductions in days at sea for the West coast of between a 10% and 18% depending on mesh size and 10 % for the North Sea. But the decision to give the go-ahead for the first time to a groundbreaking Scottish administered conservation scheme will enable boats to gain back these lost days in exchange for realistic cod avoidance measures.
This targeted conservation approach includes measures such as real-time area closures to fishing, technical alterations to nets to allow unwanted fish to escape, and a programme of independent observers on boats to ensure auditable compliance.
SFF chief executive, Bertie Armstrong said: “Our new approach this year has been to seek more intelligent ways of meeting cod avoidance. We welcome that a Scottish administered scheme has been agreed, which will provide flexibility to effort management and provide incentives for Scottish skippers to adopt targeted and effective fisheries conservation measures.
For the West coast, the quota for Rockall haddock was increased substantially by 50%, the West of Scotland cod quota is down by 18% and megrim remains unchanged.
For pelagic fish (mackerel and herring), the quota for West of Scotland herring has been reduced by 20% – better than originally proposed. Quotas for most North Sea stocks had already been decided at previous talks between the EU, Norway and other states.
Despite some disappointments, most of the TACs agreed were the best that could have been expected, given stock science.
Mr Armstrong said: “One of our key aims was for Scotland to gain influence over the administration of a separate effort management scheme that will provide flexibility. This has been achieved and will hopefully pave the way for more effective fisheries management in the future.”
