Haddock quotas relaxed

FISHERMEN on Scotland’s west coast are to be allowed to land every haddock they catch in a radical move by the European Commission to prevent hundreds of tonnes of over quota fish being dumped at sea.

The relaxation in the rules was announced by Maria Damanaki, the European Fisheries Commissioner, who said she had decided to use emergency powers to reduce and avoid excessive discarding of haddock in the area.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), which had previously warned that the new quota system and catch restrictions would prove unworkable, welcomed the decision. The measures will come into force immediately for six months initially.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the SFF, said: “Under the previous catch composition rules, fishermen had no option other than to discard large quantities of perfectly good haddock, which was a tragic waste.”