Scots fishermen praised by Brussels for 'mackerel war' port blockades

Published on Tuesday 24 August 2010 16:56

THE European fisheries commissioner has praised the Scottish fishermen who staged two quayside blockades to prevent Faroese trawlers from landing catches of mackerel into Peterhead.

Maria Damanaki, the European fisheries chief, pledged her personal support for the action by furious skippers amid concerns of an escalating "mackerel war" between Europe and the Icelandic and Faroese governments over their controversial decision to set autonomous quotas for mackerel, against scientific advice.

Pelagic fishermen from the Buchan ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh have already mounted two successful quayside blockades in Peterhead this month to prevent Faroese trawlers from landing huge consignments of mackerel for processing at local fish factories.

And yesterday, in her first statement on the blockade, Ms Damanaki, backed their decision to prevent the foreign fish landings. She said: "I understand the preoccupation and fears of our fishermen, because after all they were the ones who fished mackerel sustainably for the past decade and they were the ones who built up the stock to its current level.

"Having to watch others deliberately risking this economically profitable stock for the EU industry is simply not acceptable. We cannot let this situation continue. It must be resolved by finding a mutually satisfactory way forward."

It was also revealed yesterday that Ms Damanaki is demanding meetings with Faroese and Icelandic government representatives to address the mackerel crisis. She has also warned that Iceland's bid to join the European Union could be damaged by the dispute over mackerel.

Her spokeswoman said: "The actions by the Scottish fishermen have been provoked by the unilateral action of the Faroe Islands in setting a mackerel quota three times its entitlements. Such action can be in no way justified as there is simply no fisheries or scientific basis for it.

"The actions taken by fishermen in the port of Peterhead are merely the expression of our industry's frustration with a situation where EU vessels faithfully stick to the sustainable quota that they have been given"

"The EU cannot simply ignore actions taken by the Faroe Islands, which impact negatively on both the sustainability of the stock and our pelagic sector dependant on that resource and therefore the Commission has taken the initiative to ask for a meeting with the Faroe Islands to address this problem."

Richard Lochhead, Scotland's fisheries secretary, welcomed the commissioner's intervention.