Many west coast fishermen and their families will sleep easier this Christmas after last-minute talks prevented the closure of their fishing grounds.
Although the deal will be tough to implement for some vessels, overall it follows a series of achievements for Scotland over recent weeks. Importantly, for Scotland’s top five commercial stocks, fishermen will be able to catch more than or the same as last year.
Coastal communities had been facing a bleak future due to European Commission proposals that would effectively have closed down west coast fisheries, including the sustainable prawn sector – Scotland’s biggest and most valuable stock.
Now, thanks to intense negotiations late into last night and this morning, the closures have been seen off and been replaced with challenging conservation measures which should benefit both the economy and the environment.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
“The future of the west coast fishing communities dominated this week’s negotiations and there will be huge relief that proposals to close the grounds have been successfully resisted.
“The bulk of the west coast fleet will now be able to make a living in 2009 although a number of fishermen face a huge challenge in delivering the agreed conservation measures and we will work hard to help them stay viable.
“The deal draws to a close the annual fisheries negotiations that have resulted in a number of breakthroughs but also some new challenges.
“We refused to accept the original deal on the table and, following a herculean effort and very tough negotiations, we overturned the Commission’s original plans.
“As always the final deal represents a mixed bag and there are still some tough times ahead as the fleet adapts to these new measures but overall we have stood up for Scotland and our fishing communities.”
The key parts of the deal reached today at the December Fisheries Council are:
replacing the Commission’s proposed closures with conservation measures developed in Scotland such as real-time closures and square mesh panels; this will safeguard cod, haddock and whiting stocks while allowing sustainable fisheries such as prawns and monkfish to continue
the £100 million prawn fleet will be able to catch the same as last year
an eight per cent increase for west coast monkfish
a five per cent increase for west coast megrim
This deal comes on the heels of other recent results for Scotland achieved during this year’s annual round of negotiations:
a 33 per cent quota increase for the £70 million mackerel fleet
a 30 per cent quota increase for the £14 million North Sea cod fleet
the haddock fleet will be able to catch the same as last year
a ban on the dumping of marketable North Sea cod
the adoption elsewhere in Europe of conservation measures pioneered in Scotland – such as conservation credits and real-time closures
Mr Lochhead added:
“Fishing is part of the social and economic fabric of Scotland. That’s why this year we have invested a monumental amount of time and effort in the annual round of European talks to deliver the best possible deal for the industry and the communities they support.
“We have worked in partnership with the industry – this week they have been alongside us in large numbers – and together Team Scotland has secured a package of measures which are blazing a trail in Europe.
“In the current economic climate, a secure future for this vital industry has never been more important.”
West coast fishing is worth around £85 million, with prawns by far the biggest and most valuable sector with 275 boats and a value of £45 million (the prawn sector across Scotland as a whole is worth around £100 million).
Initial proposals tabled by the European Commission were aimed at protecting vulnerable whitefish stocks on the west coast but would have effectively closed all fisheries, including the prawn sector. Such a blunt measure would have been wholly unfair as it would have severely hit the prawn fleet which, as the science shows, is already fishing stocks sustainably.
Communities along the west coast are heavily reliant on the fishing industry and prawns in particular. Support infrastructure such as haulage companies, ice manufacturers and processors would all have been hit by the Commission’s plans. The companies involved in processing the prawns support around 500 jobs alone.
Scotland has pioneered sustainable fishing in Europe during 2008 and put forward more sophisticated measures for protecting west coast whitefish stocks which would not unfairly penalise the prawn fleet. These included the use of different fishing nets which let more fish escape and real-time closures which shut parts of the sea when fish are in abundance.
Scotland’s top five commercial stocks and fishing opportunities for 2009 are as follows:
Prawns – £100 million – same as last year
Mackerel – £80 million – 33 per cent increase
North Sea haddock – £31.7 million – same as last year
Monkfish – £25 million – 8 per cent increase on the west coast and the same as last year for the North Sea
North Sea Cod – £13.6 million – 30 per cent increase
