The European Marine Fisheries Fund (EMFF) has provided a six figure grant to make further improvements to the sustainability of six UK fisheries as part of Project UK Fisheries Improvements. These six fisheries have been selected by the UK supply chain due to their importance for the UK market.
Scottish fishermen’s leaders have welcomed commitments by UK government ministers on leaving the Common Fisheries Policy in March 2019.
Two Scottish fishermens’ associations are urging the UK government to confirm its commitment to leaving the Common Fisheries Policy on the 29th of March 2019 and to take full responsibility for UK waters immediately post-Brexit.
A report by EDF focuses on changing patterns in fish populations and the implications for fisheries as well as for the way fisheries need to be managed in future. The North-East Atlantic is home to some of the world’s most environmentally sound fisheries, as well as being managed under some highly complex governance and management systems –all of which face challenges as climates and stocks change.
Following a bad-tempered falling-out at the end of last year over reciprocal access to fishing grounds, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have come to an agreement for access in 2018 to Atlanto-Scandian herring, blue whiting and other fish stocks.
A pilot project has been launched towards establishing a voluntary observation and inspection programme for the Black Sea by the end of 2019. This follows the recent recommendation by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) for a multi-annual management plan for turbot in the Black Sea.
The NFFO Executive Committee, which met recently in York, has reaffirmed its objectives as the UK leaves the EU against the background of the European Commission’s position that NFFO chief executive Barrie Deas described as aiming at keeping a post-Brexit UK tied into the CFP for the foreseeable future, while pressing for a status quo on quota shares and access arrangements to be maintained.
Haddock worth an estimated NoK200 million went uncaught last year, according to Norwegian research institute Nofima, which has put forward suggestions for the allocation of quotas to be reviewed.
As the European Parliament voted on technical measures earlier this week, French fishing industry body CNPMEM claims that with all the attention was focused on pulse fishing, a chance to deal with properly crucial legislation on mesh sizes was missed.
Following the overwhelming vote in the European Parliament to ban the use of electric pulse beam trawling, LIFE’s Executive Director, Jerry Percy stated that ‘it is so important to reiterate yet again that our resistance to the use of electric pulse fishing was not based on ‘fake news,’ jealousy between fishermen or NGO dogma.’