News / Relief as ‘days at sea’ stay unchanged
THE SCOTTISH fishing industry and the government have succeeded with their aim to retain the number of days fishermen can go out to sea to catch their quota allocation.
Speaking immediately after the conclusion of the end of year fisheries council negotiations in Brussels on Tuesday, Scottish fishing minister Richard Lochhead said he was relieved the industry’s objective was achieved.
Details of quotas for most of the North Sea stock will only emerge at the end of January as part of the EU-Norway talks over shared stocks, but there will be reductions in the monkfish quota.
Scotland is seeking an increase in the cod quota as part of EU-Norway talks.
Mr Lochhead said: “This means our fishing fleet can achieve a better balance between having quota to catch and enough days at sea to catch it.
“This is the second year in a row without days at sea cuts but it is a great pity that that we arrived at these talks with this cloud of uncertainty still hanging over the fleet.
“It was important to ensure the Commission were clear on our rational on seeking an increase in quota for North Sea cod in the forthcoming important EU/Norway talks.”
With regards to the reformed Common Fisheries Policy, which will be implemented during 2014, the minister added that he was looking forward to decisions affecting the industry being brought closer to home.
Chairman of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA), Leslie Tait said: “While many of our key quotas have yet to be decided in talks between the EU and Norway, possibly as late as February, we do know that effort will not be cut, that a proposed reduction in monkfish quota will be limited to 10 per cent instead of 20 per cent and that there could be scope for an increase in cod quota.”
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation added: “We are relieved that there will be no further cuts in fishing days as it would have brought real economic hardship to the fleet at a time when fish stocks are recovering.
“Freezing the effort at its current level was entirely the commonsense approach to take.”
“Despite the background of recovering fish stocks, the coming year will see a number of significant challenges for the Scottish fleet, most notably in preparing for the impending introduction of this discards ban,” he said.
Shetland MSP Tavish Scott added: “No further reduction to the days our boats can fish is the very least the industry needed. So the freeze in so-called effort is positive.
“Fishermen will be worried by the mixed results on quotas. The cut to North Sea monkfish is not good news as this is a very valuable species for the Shetland whitefish fleet. So these reductions will cause pressure on the finances of our boats.”
The fisheries council also agreed to an eight per cent increase in the megrim catch in the North Sea and 20 per cent off the West Coast as well as a 49 per cent increase in the hake catch in all areas.
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