New European fishing rules may cost 1,000 Scottish jobs

SCOTTISH fishermen's leaders yesterday warned that 1,000 jobs could be axed as a result of the radical reform of the controversial Common Fisheries Policy.

It's believed that the reform could also lead to the Scottish fishing fleet being cut by up to 20 per cent.

Commenting on the reforms unveiled yesterday by Maria Damanaki, the European fisheries minister, the leaders claimed that plans for a blanket ban on throwing dead and over-quota fish back into the sea - championed by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - would have a hugely damaging impact on the white fish sector.

And Richard Lochhead, Scotland's fisheries minister, warned that plans to allow an international trade in fishing quotas could lead to the right to fish around Scotland's coast ending up in foreign hands.

Ms Damanaki, however, insisted radical change was needed, claiming that unless urgent action was taken to safeguard fragile stocks, the children of Europe would in future be seeing fish only in pictures.

Announcing proposals which could become law in 18 months, she said: "Action is needed now to get all our fish stocks back into a healthy state to preserve them for present and future generations. Only under this precondition can fishermen continue to fish and earn a decent living out of their activities."

Ms Damanaki warned that 75 per cent of all European fish stocks were still being overfished, with a third in a "worrying" state. She declared: "Our fleet is obese - and our efforts to slim it down with various incentives have been counterproductive. Too many fleet segments live on low profits, depend on subsidies for survival and are vulnerable to outside factors such as an increase in fuel prices.

"Business as usual is not an option. According to our modelling exercise, if no reform takes place, only eight stocks out of 136 will be at sustainable levels in 2022. We cannot close our eyes any more. If we don't do it - let me be completely clear about it - our children will see fish not on their plates but only in pictures."

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Ms Damanaki said: "The second thing we need to do for sustainability is stop waste: discards, which can amount to 60 per cent of catches in some fisheries, undermine all our data collection efforts and are morally and environmentally unacceptable."

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said the reforms would lead to a 20 per cent cut in the Scottish fleet's capacity.

He said: "That could mean a reduction of anywhere between 400 and 1,000 vessels, counting the small creel boats, and a reduction in employment of 1,000 people. That is completely unacceptable."Mr Lochhead said he supported moves for a much clearer emphasis on fisheries conservation and a commitment to tackle the scandal of discards, but he warned of the danger posed by the (European] Commission's support for the international trading of fish quotas.

He declared: "There is a huge threat to Scotland lurking within these proposals because, alarmingly, the Commission is advocating an expansion in the international trading of fishing quotas. Selling quota to Europe's highest bidders will erode Scotland's historic rights, which in turn could spell doom for our fragile fishing communities."