EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella will present the European Commission's proposals for 2019 fishing opportunities for the Atlantic, North Sea and Black Sea at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 17-18th December in Brussels.
Ahead of this week’s December Council, Scottish fishermen’s leaders have warned that the European Union countries will be guilty of vengeful behaviour if they pile pressure on UK fishermen as a result of Brexit, stating that with a fisheries agreement to be negotiated as part of the final exit settlement, it is not in the interests of the 27 EU nations to take a hard line on 2019 quotas and TACs.
The Netherlands will be pushing at this week’s December Council of Minister for a higher sole quota than that recommended by ICES, which advised a 22% reduction.
A few hours into the December Council of Minister which will set TACs and quotas for 2019, the NFFO is warning that problems associated with the Landing Obligation are unlikely to be solved by the assembled ministers.
Icelandic Fisheries Minister Kristján Thór Júlíusson has acted on the legislation that allows 5.3% of the overall quota to be held back for a range of particular purposes, including supporting coastal communities, quota markups for longliners, coastal fisheries, support for shrimp and shellfish vessels, sport fisheries and to met other temporary requirements.
The new Russian Pollock factory, a joint venture between The Russian Fishery Company (RFC) and the DV Invest, will net an additional 14,500 tonnes of pollock and herring quotas once it is operational. The factory, due to be built in the Nadezhdinskaya priority development territory near Vladivostok, represents an investment of $12-15 million.
The Commission responsible for selecting projects under Russia’s investment quotas scheme has approved 56 out of the 68 applications received. 33 new fishing vessels and 23 new fish processing plants are to be built under the investment quotas framework.
Faroese fisheries minister Høgni Hoydal has expressed his surprise at the turn of events that resulted in Iceland suspending access for the Faroese fleet to Icelandic waters, not least at the actions of the Icelandic authorities. He has protested at the decision to rescind the fisheries agreement between the two nations, which he has described as unusual and illegal.
South-West FPO chief executive Jim Portus said that this year’s December Council had turned out to be one of the longer ones, resulting in a mixed bag for South-West and Channel fishermen containing both good fortune and despair.
There’s a positive vibe from Scottish government, which states that an additional £44 million worth of fishing opportunities will be available to the Scottish fishing industry in the wake of this year’s December Council, part of an overall £44 million package that includes the outcomes of deals with the Faroes and Norway.