The first piece of primary fisheries legislation in decades is set to pass through Parliament, putting in place legislation that provides fisheries ministers with the powers needed to set quotas and control access to UK fishing grounds as the UK leaves the European Union and the CFP. The Bill now faces scrutiny and possible amendment in the House of Lords before returning to the Commons for a final vote.
As the pressure mounts in Westminster ahead of the crucial Parliamentary vote on Tuesday that is widely expected to reject the Prime Minister’s deal with the European Union, DEFRA and the MMO have published guidelines on the implications of Britain crashing out of the EU without transitional arrangement.
The establishment of a new multiannual management plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean that affects the fleets, mainly trawlers, from Italy, France and Spain as the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries’ adopted its position on the European Commission proposal has been welcomed by fishing industry body Europêche.
Work has been completed to enable endangered eels to make their way up the River Trent as part of their epic 3000 mile journey from Bermuda. In a partnership project, a special eel pass has been installed on Hazelford Weir on the River Trent, between Nottingham and Newark.
The European Commission has delisted Thailand from the group of ‘warned countries’ in recognition of its progress in tackling IUU fishing, acknowledging that Thailand has successfully addressed shortcomings in its fisheries legal and administrative systems.
The authorities in Taiwan have handed down some heavy penalties on fishing vessels operators, one for significant violations of Work in Fishing Convention C188 and the other for catching large quantities of silky shark which is a prohibited species.
Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has announced the outcome of the review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone, and has decided that trawlers over 18 metres will be excluded from waters inside six miles from 1st January 2020.
Meeting in Brussels this week, the Fisheries Council reached agreement on the catch limits for 2019 just two weeks before the latest and toughest phase of the landing obligation comes into effect.
Iceland’s minister of fisheries Kristján Thór Júlíusson has signed off regulations regarding the Icelandic fleet’s quotas for blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring for 2019. At present there is no agreement with the Faroe Islands for Icelandic vessels to catch any of these quotas in Faroese waters.
This year’s Council of Ministers is over following the usual gathering in Brussels. In broad terms, in 2019 there will be 59 fish stocks that are managed at MSY levels, some TACs have been increased, others cut, protection measures are in place for eel, bass remains a huge headache and the landings obligation comes into force on 1st January.