A drastic reduction in sole quotas for 2024 is going to make life tough for the remaining Dutch trawler fleet next year as operators are going into the new year facing a 60% reduction.
According to Jacob Snoek, who was in Brussels for Nederlandse Vissersbond and PO Delta Zuid while this year’s December Council of Ministers was held, the good news is that all negotiations have been completed on time for the first time since Brexit and that fishing companies know where they stand.
But he commented that the bad news is the unreal 60% reduction in sole.
In 2021 the sole stock was still at a historic high, according to researchers and the average sole fisherman had a quota of around 90 tonnes. After this dramatic reduction, only 16% of this will remain for 2024, so the average now amounts to 14 tonnes of sole per vessel.
He pointed out that while the sole catches per vessel over the past 10 weeks have been higher compared to the same period in the top year of 2021, there could have been reason to expect a less drastic reduction, adding that the benchmark for sole is planned for early next year and there are hopes and expect a more realistic picture from science.
‘In recent weeks we spoke with a delegation from the fisheries sector, including outgoing Minister Adema. We also made a number of suggestions to soften the blow. However, so far little seems to have been done with these suggestions and the Netherlands, for example, has ‘simply’ agreed, albeit with a comment about the large reduction for sole,’ he said.
‘However, the minister is aware of the pressing situation and that is why we will have another administrative meeting next week. We will look at possible options to lessen the pain. As POs, we will make a joint plan for the distribution of reorganised sole quotas. In addition, a fishing plan will be drawn up together with the fishermen at the beginning of January, including options for leasing. It is clear that a significant adjustment must be made for every sole fisherman compared to the current fishing plan.’
