Fishermen scorn UK Marine Bill

Published on Tuesday 17 June 2008 22:07

SCOTTISH fishermen's leaders yesterday called for the fishing industry to join the North Sea oil and gas sector in being excluded from the controls of the government's controversial new Marine Bill.

In a hard-hitting response to the Westminster consultation document, senior officials in the Scottish White Fish Producers' Association (SWFPA), claim that the fishing industry will be forced to play second fiddle to environmental concerns under the proposed legislation.

They claim the Marine Bill will offer nothing to commercial fishing interests but more regulation, controls, restrictions and potential elimination. And the leaders add: "The bill is totally geared towards the environmental perspective."

The accusation is made in the joint response by Michael Park, the executive chairman of the SWFPA, and George MacRae, the association's secretary.

The officials argue that there is a "compelling case" for the control of the marine environment out to 200 miles from Scotland's coast to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament – a call already made by the SNP.

The Marine Bill, however, proposes the creation of a Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to take over the management of Britain's coastal waters.

The officials state: "While it is accepted in an ideal world, so far as Westminster is concerned, that the management of the marine environment around the UK from the coastline out to 200 nautical miles should be as uniform as possible, that cannot happen due to the devolution settlement, the unique nature of Scotland's coastline and the size of the Scottish fish-catching capacity.

"The SWFPA alone represents, by value, 50 per cent of the total value of white fish and shellfish landed into the UK. Fishing is also ten times more important to the economy of Scotland than that of England, and there is accordingly a compelling argument for the devolution to Scotland of the control and management of the marine environment around Scotland's coasts out to 200 nautical miles."

Mr Park and Mr MacRae also claim that the Marine Bill is "unfairly biased" towards environmental concerns.

They state: "Overall, the Marine Bill clearly emphasises the environmental principles must be paramount for the future use of our seas around the UK coasts, but offers nothing for existing users, other than more regulation, control, restriction, closure or even elimination, as the bill is totally geared to the environmentalist perspective.

"The view of our association is clear. The fishing industry should, like the oil and gas industry, be exempted from the provisions of the Marine Bill," said Mr Park and Mr MacRae.

"This view is based on the long history of commercial fishing, which has enhanced the marine environment in many ways, and the legitimate expectations of the industry to operate commercially to harvest a national resource in the public interest," they said.