Crucial talks on future of fishing

LEADERS of Scotland’s fishing industry will today call for no stone to be left unturned in the struggle to ensure the industry’s survival.

The Fisheries Management and Conservation Group meet in Edinburgh and top of the agenda will be the cuts in days at sea imposed on the Scottish fleet at the December meeting of the European Fisheries Council.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “Having failed to meet our principal objective at the last EC Fish Council to freeze the annual cuts in fishing days, our priority now has to be to make the best of a bad situation and identify ways that will maximise the fleet’s fishing potential under the current constraints.”

He continued: “It is indeed the ultimate paradox that the Scottish industry had taken the lead in managing its own days at sea and introduced several conservation-led incentives for fishermen to gain extra days, only to be punished with further cuts in effort.

“Now, there is a real question mark whether there are enough days left for our fleet to catch our quotas, which in turn threatens relative stability and our future quota rights.