Brussels orders cuts to fish catches again

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 19:00

SCOTTISH fishermen face another "tremendously challenging year" after a new round of annual cuts in catches, industry leaders have warned.

A late-night deal in Brussels on Tuesday produced more quota reductions in the name of conservation, although the outcome was better than feared.

UK fisheries minister Huw Irranca-Davies said that many of the cuts proposed by the European Commission for main species were reduced, and Brussels had agreed to a plan by the UK, Denmark and Germany to give fishermen a 5 per cent catch "bonus" across the board if they agreed to install cameras on their vessels to monitor fishing.

But Scottish Tory MEP Struan Stevenson said the outcome was like "a slap in the face with a wet fish".

"Despite recent upbeat talks about reforming the hated Common Fisheries Policy, the cold reality is that UK fishermen are facing even tougher times next year," he said.

"Recent evidence gathered by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas – the scientists who advise the European Commission – indicates that cod, haddock, monkfish and whiting stocks have all increased in the North Sea.

"This is not surprising, given the fact that there are fewer than half the vessels fishing today that there were ten years ago and they are allowed to fish for only a fraction of the time.

"But it seems that pleas from the fishermen to be allowed to increase their catches have fallen on deaf ears."

Mr Stevenson said everyone involved wanted a complete Common Fisheries Policy reform, but the necessary legislation would not be in place until 2012.

He said: "The fisheries sector, meanwhile, must find a way to survive the next three years against this background of further and deeper cuts and restrictions.

"Our beleaguered fishermen are routinely ordered to limit their catches and to restrict the days they spend at sea."

The failure to conclude last week's EU/Norway talks meant it was not possible to finalise quotas for the important North Sea stocks of haddock, cod, mackerel and herring. Interim arrangements comprising 65 per cent of the 2009 quotas have been put in place to enable fishing to continue beyond the new year.

The EU/Norway negotiations are due to resume in January. Until final agreement is reached, Norwegian and Faroese waters will not be open to Scottish vessels and vice versa.

Agreement was reached for prawns, with the current quota for the North Sea being rolled over into 2010, although the west coast will have a 15 per cent reduction.

"The west coast cut in prawns is a blow for this fleet because it is the mainstay for the majority of vessels, although the reduction is less than originally proposed," said Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

West coast haddock faces a 25 per cent fall in the quota for 2010 – less than the original proposal of 54 per cent – but with the prospect of another reduction in 2011.

West of Scotland cod had a small increase of 6 per cent.