A Critical Year

One year ago when I was given the opportunity to write an article for the Fishing Review, I wrote about the frustration that I, and a huge part of the fishing industry, held about the behaviour of Iceland and the Faroe Islands in relation to Mackerel quotas. Both countries have been unilaterally giving themselves massive quota hikes since 2008 and with the latest attempts to negotiate an agreement having ended without movement, this dangerous approach will continue in 2012.

The fact that a full twelve months have passed and we are now facing a third consecutive year without an agreement in place is extremely disappointing to say the least. The scale of the quota hikes can be seen from the fact that the Faroes don’t even have the capacity to catch all the Mackerel they have awarded themselves and are instead inviting foreign vessels into their waters to catch the stock on their behalf.

This is selfish short-termism at its worst and is a fast-track to Mackerel stocks, which was Scotland’s most valuable fishing stock in 2010, falling below safe limits thanks to overfishing. The EU needs to fast-track its plans for sanctions and ensure that a tough stand is taken before the damage that is being done becomes irreparable.

One area where the fishing industry could have benefited from the EU taking less speed was with the nonsensical proposals late last year that would have seen days at sea reduced across the industry while several fishing quotas were rising. Thankfully this threat was seen off and those vessels that are subject to the annual days at sea reduction as part of the Cod Recovery Plan will be able to see them reinstated through adopting Cod avoidance measures after the Commission accepted Scotland’s interpretation of the rules.

The annual negotiations eventually saw quotas for several key fish stocks rise, but once again the key lesson that can be drawn from the fraught negotiations over the failed and discredited CFP is that the reforms this year cannot come soon enough. We urgently need to replace the CFP with a system of regional management that sees those with the greatest knowledge and stake in the success of the fishing industry given responsibility for managing it.

Some good news for the year ahead though was the Scottish Government’s announcement that Fraserburgh Harbour is to receive £7.5 million to deepen part of the harbour, improving access, and to upgrade facilities at the site. Work is expected to start in the near future and these improvements will represent a real boost for the town and the fishing industry in the area.

Despite the many trials that it has faced over the years and continues to have ahead of it, the fishing industry is integral to the fabric of Banffshire & Buchan Coast. The Scottish Government is firmly committed to supporting our fishing industry and allocating funding such as this to critical projects such as the improvements to Fraserburgh Harbour demonstrates that clearly.